Monday, unidentified gunmen came to Abakaliki, the capital city of Ebonyi State, to enforce Simon Ekpa’s stay-at-home order. This caused a lot of noise and confusion.
The state capital was completely abandoned as residents fled for safety, and thousands of merchants who had already opened their stores for business immediately closed them out of fear for their lives.
Chidebere, an eyewitness, said that the unidentified shooters went into Ahia-Ohuru Market and started shooting randomly to scare shoppers away.
“People who were nearby observed the mysterious gunmen who rode on two motorcycles with guns,” he claimed. To frighten people away, they were shooting anyway. A woman’s shop was also destroyed by fire.They approached the woman as she was bringing out her merchandise and told her to shut down the store.
“The woman was inquiring as to what crime she had committed. Before you knew it, they had ignited the shop by pouring fuel on it. There were four of them.
Additionally, it was learned that all of the fuel stations in the state capital, the retail center, and other event venues in the state had been immediately shut down.
Additionally, it was stated that the aforementioned gunmen allegedly killed some people at the intersections of Izziamgbo and Ishieke, among other locations in the state.
Aliyu Garba, the Commissioner of Police for the Ebonyi State Command, quickly responded, telling reporters in Abakaliki that there had been no incursion by unidentified gunmen.
He urged the people of the state to maintain their composure.
CP. Garba added that he had sent out hundreds of police officers on patrol to look for the alleged unidentified gunmen.
In a related development, Ebonyi State’s governor, David Umahi, has instructed the state’s security personnel to shoot any civilians seen carrying guns at point-blank range in accordance with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive.
The governor instructed traders to return to their businesses in a statement that was signed by him and provided to journalists in Abakaliki by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Mr. Uchenna Orji.
