Gunmen Run Wild In Enugu Community As Residents Flee Homes; Monarch Begs Security Agencies For Help

According to SaharaReporters, the many residents of Akpawfu Community in the Kanu East local government area of Enugu State have begun to panic.

They were thrown into panic and uncertainty as gunmen have reportedly shut down economic and social activities.

The affected areas are Ishiagu Akpawfu and Ajame Ameze Akpawfu autonomous communities.

SaharaReporters gathered that the development has forced members of the communities to flee their homes to neighbouring communities and the state capital.

SaharaReporters had reported that gunmen suspected to be members of Eastern Security Network from the community whose houses and properties were destroyed by a combined team of security agents during the military invasions of the communities in September and December 2022, on Sunday killed the Palace Secretary of Ajame, identified as Chukwuma Nnamuoke and injured many others.

It was gathered that the gunmen did not only shut down schools, churches and markets but are going after members of the communities they accused of collaborating with the Nigerian security agencies to identify and destroy their houses and properties for attack and destruction of their own belongings.

"So those they unleashed attacks on are residents they suspected to have assisted and provided security agencies information about them. They have killed four people so far and injured several others that are currently in the hospital bed," a community source told SaharaReporters on Friday morning.

Confirming the incident, the traditional ruler of Ajame Ameze, Akpawfu Autonomous Community, Igwe Christopher Nnamani, told SaharaReporters on the telephone that they (hoodlums) have driven out members of the communities from their homes.

Nnamani, who said that the situation had gone out of hand, appealed to the state government and security agencies to come to their aid and save the community from ruin.

He said, "As we speak, I don't know whether there is anyone still in the community as so many people have evacuated their families to safer places.

"All the schools - primary and secondary - and churches have completely shut down. For nearly one year now, nobody has been going to school because teachers are no longer coming to school over the activities of the hoodlums. Churches are no longer operational.

"On market days, they will come to the market square, shoot sporadically, scatter traders and carry their goods. Since the last incident sometime last month when some people were wounded, my people have not been going to the market. We have local security people but they have overpowered them. They killed the chief security officer (CSO) of our community and abducted some security men, who have not been seen to date."

"I am using this medium to appeal to the security agencies to do something urgent to save our situation. We want permanent military post in the community to counter the increasing threats of the criminals," he added.

Efforts made by SaharaReporters to know what the state police command was doing about the issue were not successful. Daniel Ndukwe, the spokesperson for the state police command did not answer his calls nor reply to a text message sent to him.