Tension in Imo State as Gunmen Shoot 7 Northern Traders Dead, Others Flee for Their Lives
- Seven northern traders resident in Imo state have been shot dead by unknown gunmen in separate attacks
- An eyewitness said the ugly incidents happened between Friday, April 2, and Saturday, April 3
- The incidents have caused fear among Hausa traders, many of whom have fled from the affected communities
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There is palpable tension in Imo state following the murder of seven traders of northern extraction, Daily Trust has reported.
According to the newspaper, the victims were killed in separate shooting incidents in Orlu town and Umuaka in Njaba local government area between Friday, April 2, and Saturday, April 3.
An eyewitness, Harisu Umaru Ishiaku, said the killers who were dressed in military uniform stormed the Afor Umuaka market around 8.30pm and attacked the victims.
Source: Twitter
He said four of the victims have lived in the area for many years just as he suspected that those behind that attack are strangers, noting that there has never been an issue between the deceased and the people of the Umuaka community.
Abdulkadir said Hausa traders in Orlu now live in fear, adding that some of them have relocated to Owerri, the state capital, Daily Nigerian also reported.
Reacting, Governor Hope Uzodinma's aide on gender, vulnerable groups, and northern affairs, Sulaiman Ibrahim Sulaiman, said the state government and security agencies have waded into the matter.
He called on the residents of the affected communities to allow peace to reign, noting that Governor Uzodinma is disturbed by the incidents.
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In other news, Raphael Idang, a 31-year-old member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has narrated how he and other IPOB members attacked and killed Nigerian soldiers and police officers.
IPOB is a separatist (proscribed) group agitating for the independent state of Biafra in Nigeria.
Legit.ng gathered that Idang, who hails from Odukpani, Cross River state, said he joined IPOB on March 17, 2020, and was recruited into its security arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). He confessed to having participated in the killing of close to a dozen security operatives, including four soldiers in Orlu, Imo state.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the police arrested 16 members of the IPOB and recovered guns and bombs from them.
It was reported that this was disclosed in a statement released by the spokesperson of the police, Frank Mba, on Sunday, March 27.
The police accused the arrested suspects of being complicit in a series of violent and unprovoked attacks on security operatives and facilities in the southeast region and other states.
Source: Legit.ng
