BREAKING: Gunmen Attack Military Checkpoint Again
Gunmen have attacked a military checkpoint in Ebonyi State, Nigeria’s south-east.
The attack, according to the police, occurred on Friday morning in Amangwu Axis of the Amasiri-Owutu-Edda Expressway, Edda Local Government Area of the state.
Edda was formerly known as Afikpo South Local Government Area before it was renamed by the then Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, in 2023.
The police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Joshua Ukandu, confirmed the attack to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.
Mr Ukandu, a deputy superintendent of police, said the details of the attack were still sketchy as of press time.
“It is not yet certain if there were casualties. The attack was carried out by gunmen in the area, who operated with motorcycles,” he said.
Some residents of the area, said although they were not aware of the attack, the hoodlums must have been part of those enforcing an illegal sit-at-home order in the South-east.
“You know they said the sit-at-home will be for four-days starting from 29 July,” one of the residents, who asked not to be named, said.
Like other states in Nigeria’s south-east, security has deteriorated in Ebonyi State with frequent attacks by armed persons.
The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.
The latest attack occurred about a month after gunmen attacked a police facility in the Ivo Local Government Area of the state with five persons confirmed dead.
The Nigerian government has accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. However, the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of the south-south Nigeria.
