Gunmen enforcing sit-at-home on Tuesday, set ablaze a police patrol van at Ukwuagba-Ngbo community in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The action by the gunmen was said to be part of plans to enforce compliance to the one-week sit-at-home order declared by a splinter group of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by Simon Ekpa.
The attackers were said to have stormed a police checkpoint in the area and ordered policemen on duty to leave the scene, while they set the van ablaze.
Recall that IPOB splinter group had penultimate week, declared a one-week sit-at-home across the South-East geo-political zone.
Aside from the attack on the Ukwuagba-Ngbo area of the state, the gunmen also approached the Ishieke Campus of the Ebonyi State University and shot sporadically in the air.
They ordered market women to shut their shops and motorcyclists to stop operations on Tuesday.
The Chairman of Ohaukwu Council Area, Ikechukwu Onwe, condemned the attacks and called for the cooperation of stakeholders to checkmate the activities of miscreants, in the area.
During a security council meeting, on Tuesday, at the council headquarters, Ezzangbo, Onwe said he would deploy every measure to apprehend the hoodlums.
Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State Government has enjoined residents of the state to go about their normal businesses, saying the situation was under control.
A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Okpor, said “The Ebonyi State Government has observed with dismay, apprehension in some parts of the state following activities of unknown gunmen.
“The government, therefore, wishes to advise the general public to go about their lawful businesses as security agents are on top of the situation.”
