Gunmen kill pregnant woman, ten others in Ebonyi community

Gunmen suspected to be warlords from a neighbouring community have attacked the residents of Inikiri, a village in Ezza Effium Community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State killing a pregnant woman and ten others.

Penpushing reports that the gunmen launched the attack on Wednesday, while record has it that Ezza Effium and Uffiom Communities have been engulfed in dispute for some years now, which has resulted in the loss of several lives, displacement of hundreds of people and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.

The residents who spoke on the sad development explained that the hoodlums invaded the community at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday and shot sporadically till 6 p.m. of the same day, killing the victims at the spot.

Penpushing further reports that sources said children between the ages of two and 12 were among the 11 persons killed during the attack, while as at the time of filing this report the identities of the gunmen were yet to be ascertained.

The residents of Ezza Effium, however, claimed that the hoodlums were Uffiom warriors, while record equally showed that the community has a joint military and police checkpoint, which the state government set up for peacekeeping in the area.

Penpushing also reports that Chuks Nwafor, one of the residents said that the attackers operated without a challenge from both the soldiers and police operatives stationed in the area adding that a Primary Healthcare Center built for the community by an international organisation, and over 30 residential houses were razed during the attack.

The Ebonyi State Police Command Public Relations Officer Joshua Ukandu, when contacted on Friday said the police authorities in the state had initiated efforts to investigate what happened in the community.

‘We have received the information (about the attack), and we are working to confirm what happened, So, I don’t think that the incident happened within the area where the mobile police officers and military men are present, but we are still trying to assess what happened’, Ukandu said.

Penpushing reports that the Command Public Relations Officer who is a Deputy superintendent of Police, on the alleged failure of some soldiers to confront the attackers said there was no evidence that the attack happened close to the military checkpoint.

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