Gunmen suspected to be enforcing a two-day sit-at-home allegedly declared by a yet-to-be-identified group on Friday attacked Ebebe Junction in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
It was gathered that the attackers, who struck the area at about 6:20am, torched a vehicle. The driver and a motorcyclist were said to have narrowly escaped being shot by the gunmen.
A resident of the area, Anayo Chukwuemeka, said the attackers fired several gunshots that left residents in panic mode.
“It happened in a flash but when the gunshots died down and we came out, we saw that a vehicle had been burnt beyond recognition. The driver of the vehicle who managed to escape told us that the gunmen said they were enforcing the sit-at-home declared in protest of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Ebonyi.
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“A motorcycle operator who also escaped the attackers’ gunshots said they shot at him but he miraculously dodged the bullets,” Chukwuemeka added.
Another resident and a shop owner in the area, Mr Simon Onwe, told City Round that the attackers came in a vehicle without a number plate, shot into the air indiscriminately and fled immediately.
“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,” Simon added.
Efforts made to reach the Ebonyi State Police Command for comments were unsuccessful.
The command’s spokesperson, Mrs Loveth Odah, had yet to respond to text messages sent to her mobile as of the time of filing this report.
