September 29, (THEWILL) – Armed soldiers on Thursday, invaded Umunze community, in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The military men, upon arrival, shot in the air at the Nkwo Market area, while ordering the traders to close their shops.
Sources in the community said, “all the schools in the area were hurriedly closed as parents withdrew their children. The roads, within a few minutes, equally got deserted.”
Residents said the invasion followed the previous day’s attack on some soldiers by gunmen, who killed three officers and one civilian in that community.
President General of the town, Chief John Akanyeonu, said the soldiers had opened fire on his people when they stormed the crime scene at about 3 pm on Wednesday, injuring some of the residents.
He added that one of the victims hit by the army’s bullets died Thursday morning.
“Yesterday, there were some bullet wounds. In fact, one of them lost his life early this morning.
“Those people (gunmen) breezed in from the direction towards Abia State, opened fire on the military men at the bank, shot all of them, entered their vehicle and zoomed off immediately.
“When the army arrived, they opened fire, shooting sporadically in the air. Some people sustained gunshot injuries. I don’t know the exact number, but I saw about three: one girl, one boy and this boy that lost his life early this morning. The boy operates a barbing salon here”, Akanyeonu said.
On Thursday’s incident, he said: “On their normal routine, they came down in their numbers, telling people to close their shops and they gave them two hours to do that. They shot live bullets also. After some while, people deserted that area.
“We have made some calls to the DSS office and the DPO here. We have also called some top military officers and I think they are discussing with their colleagues to take it easy with our people.”
“All the schools around here were shut down. And there is no hope of reopening tomorrow. Because of their behaviour, people were so afraid.”
Meanwhile, a trending video on the military’s invasion showed people running away to safety. The maker of the video also showed a pellet he picked from the Nkwo Market area.
Meanwhile, the Spokesperson of the Anambra State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, has not issued any statement on the incident.
His phone line was not reachable as of the time of filing this report.
About the Author
