Gunmen suspected to be enforcing a two-day sit-at-home allegedly declared by yet-to-be identified group in the South-East, set a vehicle ablaze while a motorcycle operator escaped death by a whisker at the Ebebe Junction in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
The attackers struck around 6:20 a.m on Friday a day after President Muhammadu Buhari’s arrival on a two-day state visit.
According to News Agency Of Nigeria, a resident of the area, Anayo Chukwuemeka, said that the attackers fired several gunshots that got residents panicking and scampering for safety.
“It happened in a flash. But when the gunshots died down and we came out, we saw that a vehicle has been burnt beyond recognition.
“The driver of the vehicle, who managed to escape, told us that the gunmen said they are enforcing the sit-at-home declared in protest of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Ebonyi.
“A motorcycle operator, who also escaped the attackers’ gunshots, told us that they fired at him but he miraculously dodged the bullets,” Chukwuemeka said.
Also, Mr Simon Onwe, a shop owner in the area, said that the attackers came in a vehicle without a number plate, shot sporadically in the air and immediately fled.
“I was still inside my shop because I slept there; I heard the gunshots but I discovered later that they left a vehicle burnt beyond recognition while a motorcycle operator told us that he narrowly escaped their bullets.
“It’s so unfortunate that we witnessed such an ugly incident in this area that is usually very peaceful and with business activities, especially in evening periods,” he said.
Meanwhile, a combined team of men of the Nigeria Police and the Ebubeagu Eastern Security Outfit, Ebonyi Command, have cordoned off the area.
The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Loveth Odah, said that she was yet to get a report of the incident.
“I’m just getting the information from you; I’m not aware of the attack,” Odah said.
Meanwhile, an officer of the command at the scene of the incident, who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the police have organised a manhunt to apprehend the armed criminals.
However, the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group agitating for the independent state of Biafra, had in a statement signed by Emma Powerful, its media and publicity coordinator, said that the group has not declared any sit-at-home in the South-East.