Tension as Soldiers Allegedly Shoot Local Security Officers, Kill Two in Enugu

Gideon Arinze in Enugu

Tension yesterday enveloped Eke, a community in Enugu State, following the alleged killing of a volunteer member of a Neighborhood watch, Ebuka Oke, and a house wife from the locality by soldiers from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu.

The soldiers were said to have equally shot three other members of the local security outfit at close range, leaving them with various degrees of bullet injuries, a development which has thrown the entire community into confusion.

Narrating what transpired, the Assistant Chief Security Officer of Eke Security Neighbourhood Watch, Emeka Anigbo, who was among the victims, said they were at Ninth Mile Conner last Thursday night where they had gone to felicitate with their colleagues who were being inaugurated as neighborhood watch members when they got a distress call that armed robbers blocked the major road leading to the  popular Catholic Church Prayer Centre (Ugwudinso) and Eke, from Ama breweries.

On receiving the call, he said they abandoned the food and drinks they were about to eat and swiftly drove out with a view to confronting the criminal elements. However, due to heavy traffic gridlock occasioned by the blockage of the road, they could not get to the scene with their
vehicle.

“We decided to park our vehicle along the road, and started walking towards the location, and as we approached the scene, we saw three armed soldiers who ordered us in a loud voice to stop.

“We obeyed the soldiers and stopped, letting them know we were on a mission and they asked us to keep coming,” he narrated.

Amigbo explained that as they approached where the soldiers were standing, they started firing at them, killing one of their member and the wife of one of those who were inaugurated at Ninth Mile.

According to him, “Despite the fact that we were in our full security uniform and had identified ourselves, the trigger happy soldiers opened fire on us at a very close range, killing the late Oke, and the woman.

 “After shooting me severally, while I was on the ground, one of the soldiers still, notwithstanding seeing my ID card and my uniform, went ahead to shoot me again on the shoulder.”

Some natives of Eke community, who pleaded anonymity while speaking with journalists for fear of uncertainty, condemned the unprofessional conducts of the soldiers in strong terms,  describing it as barbaric and callous, and called for independent investigation.

When contacted, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Jonah Unuakhalu, described the narrative as untrue,  saying from the available information in the Division’s disposal, the deceased woman was killed by a strayed bullet from armed hoodlums who engaged the soldiers in a shootout.

He stated that the troops received a distress call that some criminal elements were operating on the Eke road, and they immediately rushed to the scene, on sighting the soldiers the hoodlums opened fire on them, but the security operatives overpowered them, leading to the arrest of one of them, and recovering of two pump action guns and some live bullets, after some ran into a nearby bush.

The 82 Division spokesman, who said he has no information regarding the second deceased person, added that it was in the course of the exchange of fire between the troop and  the hoodlums that a strayed bullet hit the deceased house wife who was rushed to the hospital, “but unfortunately, died later.

“So, there is no iota of truth in the information being peddled around that it was soldiers that killed the deceased. Our men only rushed to the scene to salvage the situation, after receiving a distress call.”