Gunmen and security officials in the convoy of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu Abia state were involved in a shootout on Wednesday night, April 13, in the commercial city of Aba.
According to a report on Vanguard, the gunmen were armed robbers, who were operating at the time the governor’s convoy passed.
Eye witnesses said the incident occurred near the Abia state polytechnic along Aba-Owerri road at about 8.20pm, when Governor Ikpeazu was reportedly returning to Aba from Umuahia, the state capital after close of work.
A security operative on the condition of anonymity told Vanguard that the gunmen were robbing a suspected Lagos bound bus, when a pilot security van without siren and amber light approached the area.
On sighting the security vehicle, the gunmen were said to have opened fire without knowing that it was the governor’s convoy.
He said: “The robbers did not know that it was the governor. They thought that it could be the Army or police, but when they discovered it was the governor’s convoy with its full complement of security details, they took to their heels.
“I do not think it was the governor that the hoodlums wanted to attack. It is just that the governor’s convoy that was returning from work without the usual siren and the revolving amber light, ran into them.”
According to another source, the gunmen laid ambush on the road and shot sporadically as the governor’s convoy approached.
“The gunmen were repelled by the security details attached to the governor as they responded swiftly when they heard gunshots ahead of them,” the source on the condition of anonymity said.
However, when contacted, DSP Ezekiel Onyeke Udeviotu, the Abia state police public relations officer, confirmed the incident, but frowned at reports that the gunmen attacked the governor’s convoy.
Udeviotu said he was yet to be fully briefed by the governor’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) over the incident.
Godwin Adindu, Governor Ikpeazu’s chief press secretary said: “It’s a minor incident…”
The ugly incident comes just days after Governor Ikpeazu visited the Malkohi Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa state .
During his visit to the camp, Governor Ikpeazu promised to contribute to the upkeep of the IDPs, some of whom are of Southeast origin.
No comments:
Post a Comment