Gunmen Raze Ohanaeze Ndigbo President’s Home, Police Station in Imo

*Uzodimma blames politicians for attack on Obiozor’s home
Amby Uneze in Owerri and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The country home of the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Professor George Obiozor, in Imo State was yesterday morning set ablaze by gunmen.

The attack on Obiozor’s home came the same night the Umuguma Divisional Police Headquarters in the Owerri West LGA of the state was burnt with two police constabularies killed and cars burnt.
The incident happened in Awo-Omamma, the hometown of Obiozor, in the Oru East Local Government Area of the state

Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, have condemned the attack on Obiozor’s home by those he described as political bandits.
The gunmen, it was gathered, used Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs) to destroy the building.
Residents of the area said the gunmen drove into the compound at about 6:15 a.m., shot indiscriminately for over 15 minutes before they set the house ablaze.

It was also learnt that Obiozor’s brother’s houses were also set ablaze by the gang members.
Properties and valuables worth millions of naira were destroyed in the attack.
“They used explosive devices and petrol gallons to put fire in the building. We entered the building, some parts of the building were still burning, and the properties were burnt to ashes.

“The roofs of the buildings were blown off and scattered around the compound,” a resident of the area said.
Police spokesperson in Imo State, Mr. Michael Abattam, confirmed the attack but said no life was lost.
“There was an attack on Obiozor’s house early this morning. Officially, no report of lives lost,” Abattam said.
Meanwhile, gunmen also killed two officers yesterday during a deadly attack on a police facility in Umuguma, Owerri West council area of Imo State.

The attack happened at the Umuguma Police station in the Owerri West council area of the state.
The gunmen came in two Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks and attacked the police station with an explosive device, according to a witness who narrated the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The incident which happened at about 4:45 am yesterday witnessed heavy bombardment at the station leading to properties worth millions of naira being destroyed.

According to eyewitnesses, the cross-exchange of gunshots sent residents of the area scampering for safety.
The attackers also allegedly killed two police constabularies who were on duty.
Though a resident of the area who pleaded not to be mentioned for fear of being attacked said two police constabularies by the name Ifeanyi and Iyke were killed, the state police command said no life was lost.
The attack came a few hours after the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 9, Umuahia, Isaac Akinmoyede, left the state after a one-day working visit.

However, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Abattam, said there was no casualty recorded during the attack.
When THISDAY visited the scene, no fewer than 12 vehicles parked at the police station, and the roof of the station were burnt by the explosives used in attacking the station.
The police spokesperson in Imo State, Abattam, confirmed the incident but said the gunmen were repelled by the officers on guard.

“I can confirm that there was an attack on the Umuguma police station, but the hoodlums were immediately repelled,” Abattam said.

Uzodimma Blames Politicians for Attack on Obiozor’s Home

Meanwhile, the Imo State Governor, Uzodimma has condemned the attack on Obiozor’s home by those he described as political bandits.
In a statement he signed, the governor regretted that desperate politician who believes in violence were yet to sheathe their swords despite repeated appeals to that effect.

Uzodimma described the attack on the country home of Obiozor as cowardly and a height of desperation.
He vowed that the government was already working in concert with security agencies to identify and punish the perpetrators.
He bemoaned the incessant resort to violence in settling political differences by some politicians in the state and warned that the government would no longer condone such banditry.

He warned that the time of those who unleash this kind of mayhem in the state is over.
“We shall hunt them down to face the full weight of the law,” he added.
Uzodimma wondered why the bandits should attack the home of a man who is not a politician but a statesman working for the good of the entire Igbo race.

Abaribe Describes Action as Despicable, Horrendous

Also, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abaribe, has described the attack on Obiozor’s country home as despicable and horrendous.
Abaribe in a statement by his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom, in Abuja yesterday, said the unwarranted attack on the foremost scholar and Nigerian patriot depicts a dangerous slide to a state of anarchy that must be arrested immediately.

The attack and others before it he said, has left a sour taste in the mouth of a hapless people haunted daily by fear of the unknown.
The Minority Leader therefore urged the security agencies to carry out an indepth investigation on the incident and apprehend the perpetrators.

He said: “The attack said to have come on the heels of another attack on a Police Station in Umuguma, Owerri same day, calls for concern and deep introspection by Ndigbo and all men of good will. We cannot continue this way and it stands condemned in the strongest terms.”
Abaribe however consoled Obiozor and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo family.