Residents in the commercial hub of Abia State, Aba, have been ostensibly gripped with fear as Nigerian troops stationed at Ariria junction along Enugu-Portharcourt expressway allegedly killed 11 young men.
A millitary source said the dead youth were “gunmen” on their way to attack the soldiers, but were ambushed and gunned down following intelligence reports.
The source said the gunmen numbering about fifty (50) had engaged troops in gun battle at about 8pm on Tuesday; but, eleven (11) of them lost their lives in the encounter, while no casualty was recorded on the side Army.
Nonetheless, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, via its Media and Publicity Secretary, had cleared the air that the said young men were not members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), alleging that the troops gathered young men in Aba yesterday night and ‘executed’ them.
Powerfull also stated that there no ESN camp anywhere in Abia state was attacked by solders.
Meanwhile, the Abia State Government alerted security agencies and the general public of the presence of hoodlums in Aba, allegedly brought in by the opposition party ahead of the by-election for Aba federal constituency, slated for Saturday.
The Commissioner for Information, Mr John Okiyi Kalu, said intelligence at the disposal of the State government was passed to security agencies to act on the information.
The security situation in Abia has been deteriorating over the past two days, following the reported killing of three policemen in Abiriba, Ohafia local government area.
Lolo Ijeoma Njoku reporting, Obinwannem News
