Police in Ebonyi State and local sources have confirmed the killing of both a soldier and a suspected gunman in an early morning attack at a military checkpoint in the State.
ait.live gathered that the suspected gunmen stormed the military checkpoint in Amangwu village, on the Amasiri – Owutu road of Edda Local Government Area, allegedly opened fire on the personnel on duty post, killing a soldier while one of the suspected gunmen was also killed.
A local source in the area said the incident occurred as early as 5 o’clock this Friday morning, but is quoted as claiming that the civilian killed in the incident was a motorcycle operator and not one of the suspected gunmen that attacked the soldiers.
The Ebonyi State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Joshua Ukandu has confirmed the violent armed attack on the Amangwu Edda military checkpoint.
Ukandu said that information available from the Owutu Edda Police Division revealed that some hoodlums attacked the military checkpoint in the early hours of Friday shooting sporadically.
He said that though it was not yet certain if there were casualties, “the attack was carried out by yet to be identified Gunmen operating in a motorcycle.”
The attack on the military checkpoint in Edda Local Government Area, about 2 hours drive, South of Abakaliki, the State capital, was said to have caused panic and apprehension in the area, as locals, motorist, and commuters plying the Federal road waited for hours for normalcy to return on the route.
Some community leaders are attributing the attack to sabotage, alleging that it is aimed at inciting crisis and bad blood between the people and military, thereby disrupting the peaceful and convivial atmosphere being enjoyed in the area over two years now, due to the presence of the military personnel.
They are therefore calling for a collaboration between the security agencies and stakeholders in the area to apprehend the suspected gunmen.
ait.live correspondent in Abakaliki reports that the Nigerian Army is yet to speak on the incident.
Editor : Ena Agbanoma
