Unknown gunmen had a shoot out confrontation with Soldiers in Onitsha, Anambra State on Sunday night.
The incident which happened at the Federal Housing Estate, Nkwelle Ezunaka, lasted for hours, while the soldiers repelled the gunmen
Sources said residents in the area were scared as the sound from the gunshots blasted through the night and spent shells kept dropping on their roof-top.
“My Estate was hot last night,” one source said. A nightclub near the scene of the incident reportedly closed abruptly as staff members and party-goers ran off in different directions.
It is unclear for now if anyone was killed in the incident.
Cars parked along the street in the area were reportedly hit by bullets. The gunmen also went to the Government Reserved Area in Onitsha, where they fired sporadic shots.
The police spokesperson in Anambra, Tochukwu Ikenga could not be reached immediately for comment, as he did not respond to calls made to his phone lines at the time of filing the report.
The spokesperson of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Abubakar Abdullahi, confirmed the incident.
The incident occurred on the night gunmen razed the Idemili local council headquarters in the state.
Both attacks happened barely 48 hours after the Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, visited Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) at the State Security Service facility in Abuja where he is being detained.
Security in Nigeria’s South-east has deteriorated in recent times with renewed attacks by armed men.
The attacks often target security agencies, government officials, and facilities.
Anambra has witnessed some of the worst attacks so far.
During his inauguration as the governor, Mr Soludo had called for a dialogue with the IPOB and other gunmen in the state and region.
The governor, thereafter, announced an amnesty programme for the gunmen and declared an end to the sit-at-home order in the state.
But residents have continued to obey the Monday sit-at-home order in the state and across the region, mostly out of fear.
The attacks by the gunmen increased in the state shortly after Mr Soludo’s inauguration and announcement of an end to the sit-at-home order in the state.
The Nigerian government has accused IPOB of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks.
The separatist group is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.
The leader of the secessionist group, Mr Kanu, is facing trial for treason.
Mr Kanu is expected to appear in court on Wednesday, May 18, for the continuation of his trial.
