- As Speeding Patrol Vans Appear, Residents Scamper For Safety
- Two Military Helicopters Hover Above Scene Of Attack
By Joel Okwara
Tension increases in Aba, capital city of Abia State, as soldiers take over the city following killing of five of their colleagues by gunmen at a military checkpoint located at Obikabia junction, Ogbor Hill.
The tension over the killing has increased with two military helicopters hovering over the Ogbor Hill area and environs.
The New Diplomat recalls that unknown gunmen, suspected to be enforcers of the sit-at-home order given by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), had attacked the checkpoint, killed five soldiers and burnt two patrol vans as well as the checkpoint.
Residents have reportedly resorted to scampering for safety “whenever they sight the several patrol teams of soldiers who move on top speed.”
The soldiers had reportedly stormed Cemetery, Ngwa road, Nsulu markets and other business centres and ordered traders to leave the areas. Many schools in the city didn’t open for studies, as parents did not allow their children to leave for school while some schools closed before midday.
However, the Aba main motor park was still a beehive of activities, even as the soldiers had left the military checkpoints at Asa road and Emelogu junction in Ogbor Hill.
Residents of Umuola, Ukaegbu, Ehere, New Umuahia and Ururuka roads in Ogbor Hill and Obohia and Ohanku in Ndiegoro area, as well as adjoining areas, have remained indoors for fear of reprisal from soldiers.
Fierce-looking soldiers have also barricaded the Aba-Umuahia section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway. Passengers now alight at Arungwa, Umuekea, Isiala Ngwa and Ntigha junctions and trek a kilometre while raising their hands.
It was observed that some motorists navigate through local routes to avoid the numerous military checkpoints on the expressway.
