Unknown gunmen have laid siege on three locations in Anambra state. The areas include: Ogidi headquarters of Idemili North local government area, Military checkpoint at the highbrow 3-3 Housing Estate in Onitsha and Eke Oko in Aguata local government area.
The attacks are coming barely two days after Governor Chukwuma Soludo, visited the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
There was palpable fear and tension among residents who thought that the meeting of both men meant an end to the sit-at-home order.
However, at Eke Oko, an unidentified middle aged man wearing a police vest with the inscription “Say No to Crime” and riding on a motorcycle, was shot dead by unknown persons.
Residents say that the victim might actually not be a policeman, especially as the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga said there was no report of the death of any policeman in the area.
The victim’s motorcycle was still lying beside him as people tried to identify who he is.
In the early hours of Monday, a section of Idemili North local government area headquarters, Ogidi was set ablaze by unknown arsonists.
While some people in the local government claimed that it was a fire incident caused by electrical fault, others said it was done by unknown gunmen.
No fewer than four official vehicles, as well as the Magistrate Court located inside the local government and a building housing the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (,EEDC) were burnt.
The state PPRO, Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the Ogidi incident. He noted however, that the swift intervention of neighbours and police operatives quelled the fire as no casualty was recorded
Gunmen also attacked military men and engaged them in a shoot out at 3-3 Estate, Nkwelle Ezunaka, near the city of Onitsha.
An eye witness said the shooting lasted several hours, scaring the residents of the area.
A resident of the Estate said: “Yesterday night at housing estate gate, unknown gunmen attacked the military men securing us. The shooting lasted almost three hours.
“After leaving our area, we started hearing gun shots at the nearby Government Reserved Area (GRA) in Onitsha”.
Meanwhile, the Monday sit at home was obeyed beyond imagination yesterday as even private schools that used to open in the past, ordered pupils who went to school to go home.
The streets of Awka were deserted more than the past few Mondays, as inter city transport was virtually not operating.
Most workers in the state were also absent from their duty posts, while the banks and shopping malls were closed.
