SIT AT HOME: ABAKALIKI RESIDENTS SCAMPER FOR SAFETY FOLLOWING ALLEGED GUNMEN ATTACKS
REPORTER: CHUKWUBEIKE MADU
Residents of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, were on Monday thrown into panic as gunmen said to be enforcing compliance to the 5 day sit-at-home ordered by the factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpe, carried out operations in various parts of the city.
The gunmen reportedly set a shop belonging to a woman ablaze at a popular mini market, Affia Ofuu, on the Enugu-Abakaliki expressway.
There were reports that gunmen also visited the popular rice mill in Abakaliki and shot in the air for some time, a situation that forced traders and their customers to scamper for safety, ending the day’s business abruptly.
A similar chioatic situation was observed at Udensi Road About close to the Old Government House and the State Police Command Headquarters.
Motorists all scampered for safety with many cases of accident recorded as they tried to flee from the gunmen who were said to have shot many times in the air.
It was a related situation at Ebebe Junction, Abakaliki, as road users all ran in different directions following reports of gunmen attacks in the town.
Many workers and business owners who had gone to transact the day’s business were forced to return home or had find a safe place for shelter, while banks, filling stations, and government offices closed abruptly.
Following the security situation, roads in the metropolis had been deserted with vehicles of the police and the local Vigilance teams seen patrolling some of the roads.
When contacted on phone, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ebonyi State Command, Mr. Chris Anyanwu, blamed the panic witnessed in the city on rumour my unscrupulous people, insisting there was no insecurity or shooting in the town.
The police spokesman said the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aliyu Garba, had joined his officers and men to patrol the capital city and confirmed there was no real shooting.
Meanwhile, a statement the State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Uchenna Orji, said Governor David Umahi had ordered security agencies to shoot on sight any body bearing illegal gun.
