Gunmen suspected to be operatives of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the militant wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Tuesday afternoon engaged joint security operatives in a gun battle during the supplementary governorship election holding in Ihiala Local Government Area in Anambra state.
The gunmen were said to have been seeking to enter Ihiala through Imo State, as Mbosi and Orsumoghu where the attack happened are border towns, with communities in Imo State.
According to Daily Post, the joint security operatives comprising of mobile policemen, Army, Navy and other security agencies stopped journalists at Mbosi/Orsumoghu junction and after a brief search, asked the journalists to return, on the insistence that a gun battle was on, ahead.
Two unidentified policemen and a soldier said, “You have to go back for your own good. For three hours now, we have been exchanging fire with your IPOB brothers.
“Our men are in the bush now, and it will be risky for you to take this route,” the security operatives advised journalists.
The Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Eworo, refused to confirm the development, asking that the reporter call back later.
A team of security men loaded in 10 Hilux vans, heading to Mbosi/Orsumoghu junction as reinforcement, as at the time of filing this report, Daily Post reports.