On Wednesday afternoon, the so-called “Unknown Gunmen” terrorizing large portions of southeast Nigeria allegedly ambushed and killed five soldiers in the Orumba South Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State.
One individual has reportedly died as a result of the accident.
Between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, the soldiers who were under surveillance were ambushed by the assailants in front of Zenith Bank in Umunze.
Ikenga Tochukwu, a spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, could not immediately confirm whether any troops had been killed but she did acknowledge that there had been a shooting at Orumba.
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I am unable to confirm whether soldiers were killed, but I can affirm that shots were fired near Umunze Road in front of Zenith Bank, he said.
He added that the command had deployed its men in the area to maintain peace and order.
The banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group has been leading calls for the secession of the region, the homeland of the Igbo ethnic group, from the rest of Nigeria. Its leader Nnamdi Kanu is being charged with “terrorism” and treason by the federal government.
IPOB has ordered people in the southeast to “sit at home” on Mondays, a form of civil disobedience to show solidarity with Kanu since last June when he was extradited from Kenya to be tried in Abuja.
The move has crippled small businesses and other economic activities and some residents say they have been beaten up for not obeying the orders.
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The group and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), have also been accused of masterminding kidnappings and killings in parts of the region. However, it has denied being behind mindless killings.
