Gunmen, on Wednesday, launched fresh attacks in Owerri, the Imo State capital, and its environs, causing pandemonium in and around the city.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that residents, who became panicky because of continuous gunshots in different parts of the town, scampered to different directions for safety.
NAN reports that the shooting took place around the popular Ikenegbu area, Wethedral Road, leading to the Government House, and Okigwe Road, stretching from the Government House Junction to the back of the Imo State University campus.
Other areas that were overrun by the gunmen were the Amawusa area on Douglas Road, and the Toronto Street, which stretches to MCC Road Junction.
A fish seller at Relief Market, near Fire Service Junction, Mrs Roseline Okeke, said that there was stampede at the market when the shooting occurred.
“Everybody ran for dear lives when the shooting was going on,” Okeke said.
Also, a POS operator at the Fire Service Junction, Miss Ukamaka Nwole, said that the assailants shot severally, when they came close to the Fire Service Police Station, Owerri before fleeing the area.
NAN reports that a detachment of police operatives responded to the attacks by shooting tear gas to scare the hoodlums.
In a reaction, the Spokesman for the Imo Police Command, ASP Henry Okoye, said the hoodlums had adopted a “guerilla style, where they come out from their enclaves, unleash surprise attacks and go into hiding.”
Okoye said that the Police Commissioner, Aboki Danjuma, “has launched a head-on attack on the gunmen”.
He said, “The Commissioner of Police has personally led men to the scenes. The command is on top of the situation. We will get the miscreants reponsible for the senseless attacks either dead or alive.
“We will so deal with the miscreants responsible for the attacks and killing of security operatives and unsuspecting members of the public.
“Let us encourage Imo people to report any suspicious persons or activities to the police.
“This is indeed a trying time but together we will come out victorious. Imo must be peaceful.”
Okoye described the hoodlums as “pure cowards”, saying that concerted efforts by security agencies were underway to apprehend them.
“Intensive operation is ongoing to restore back normalcy,” he said.
He also said that the command had not received any report of casualty arising from the incident.
NAN recalls that gunmen, on Monday, attacked policemen on duty at Orji Road, Owerri, killing four and carting away their rifles. (NAN)
