Soldiers neutralize a suspected sit-at-home enforcer in Aba and recover vehicles. Learn more about the operation and its outcomes.
A gunman suspected of enforcing a sit-at-home order in the Osisioma Ngwa area along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway was killed by soldiers from the 14 Brigade stationed in Aba, Ohafia.
The occurrence took place during a time of increased tensions and forceful behavior from the enforcers.
According to reports, traders and motorists were being intimidated by the suspected enforcers who arrived in two ash-colored Sienna and Hummer buses. The enforcers warned them not to conduct any business as per the sit-at-home directive.
Along the expressway they vandalized various goods on display from different traders while attacking an adjacent eatery where patrons fled after witnessing their violent behavior which included smashing glass windows.
Continuing their violent rampage, the gunmen intercepted an 18-seat bus en route to Port Harcourt in Ugwunagbo.
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The passengers were forcefully disembarked before the group set fire to the vehicle. They also seized a medical doctor’s Lexus jeep and subsequently torched it a short distance away from its original location. In addition, they burnt down a government-issued car with number plates as well.
Vanguard was informed by eyewitnesses that after the disorder, soldiers from the 14 Brigade barricaded significant locations such as Osisioma Ngwa, Tonimas junction, Bata and Ariaria Junctions along with Umuode-Umuojima neighborhoods.
As a result of this action taken by them, anxiety surged in the city compelling traders to close their shops down.
Vanguard was informed by a security source from the Ohafia-based 14 Brigade that, following a chase into Umuojima area, military personnel engaged in an exchange of gunfire with the assailants.
As a result of this confrontation, one gunman lost his life while others sustained injuries and were captured alive. The soldiers also retrieved the body of said individual who had been killed during the chaos.
According to reports, a member of the security personnel sustained injuries during the operation and is presently undergoing medical treatment at an undisclosed private hospital.
Both vehicles used by the armed assailants, a Toyota Sienna bus and another car, were found with blood stains after the soldiers successfully retrieved them – an evident testament to the intensity of their clash.
