Several residents were shot dead on Thursday night in Imo State when gunmen invaded three communities in the South-eastern state.
The separate attacks occurred between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., PREMIUM TIMES gathered.
The attacks occurred in Ndi-Ejezie, Umualaoma, and Ndiakuwata Uno communities within Arondizuogu in Ideato North Local Government Area of the state.
Sources told this newspaper that the hoodlums – numbering three- stormed the communities on a motorcycle and opened fire on residents, killing many on the spot.
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PREMIUM TIMES obtained video clips showing bodies of some of the slain residents from two of the three attacked communities.
This newspaper counted 12 bodies of the victims – men and women- from the video clips.
Six bodies were from Umualaoma Community, while the rest were seen in Ndi-Ejezie Community.
Most of them were shop owners, while other victims were making purchases from the shops when the gunmen attacked them.
Aside from the slain victims, several others sustained various injuries during the attacks.
A male survivor from the Ndi-Ejezie Community was heard in the background of the clip narrating how the attack happened.
“I was playing with this guy over here,” he said as he showed the body of a man in a pool of his blood.
“We were playing draught. When this attack began, I ran. We were just about three persons that survived (the attack).”
The clip showed a crowd of villagers in a sorrowful mood.
Police speak
The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, confirmed the attacks and killings in a statement forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday.
Mr Okoye, a deputy superintendent of police, wrongly said the attacks happened in the early hours of Friday.
The spokesperson also claimed that “over seven persons” were killed and “several others critically injured” during the attacks.
He said the attackers were suspected to be members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed militant wing, the Eastern Security Network.
Mr Okoye said the Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, has “strongly” condemned the attacks in the communities.
Mr Danjuma, according to the statement, described the attacks as “barbaric, inhumane, and totally unacceptable.”
The commissioner assured residents of Imo State that the police command in the state has deployed “adequate operational and intelligence assets” to identify and track down the killers.
The police chief also led a police tactical unit for “intense combing” of the affected areas and affirmed that the situation was now under control, adding that security measures had been taken to forestall further attacks and restore lasting peace in the area.
He urged the residents to remain calm, vigilant, and law-abiding and support the police with “useful information” that can aid ongoing investigations.
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Increased attacks
Like other states in Nigeria’s South-east, security has deteriorated in Imo with frequent attacks by armed persons.
The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.
Many have been killed or abducted, and several others injured in some of such attacks in the region.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly accused IPOB of being responsible for the attacks in the region.
But the separatist group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.
IPOB is 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.
