Three people were killed in a night attack by gunmen on the Akpoha community in the Afikpo local government area of Ebonyi state.
Some residents sustained varying degrees of injuries during the assault, which occurred on Saturday night.
The victims included a member of the defunct Ebubeagu Security Network, now part of the Neighborhood Security Watch (NSW), a female trader, and a man who was near the state local vigilante member when he was killed.
A local resident, Uche Donatus, reported that the slain NSW member had about ten bullets in his body.
He also noted that bullets from the gunmen’s sporadic shooting struck the roof of his house, forcing him to flee.
He said: “Our community was attacked on Saturday night. Three persons are lying dead as I speak to you.
“One of the three corpses lying on the ground is a member of Ebubeagu Security Network. He has up to 10 bullets in his body.
“The gunmen came with two motorcycles. When they were leaving, one of the motorcycles refused to on and they continued shooting heavily until it started and they left.
“These are the three persons that were killed after a heavy shooting at AkpohaIgbo by gunmen who came to execute this mayhem with two motorcycles.
“Their names are; Emmanuel Nwacha Egwu Nicholas Nwacha and INYA Blessing Orieona. Killings in Akpoha have become a regular occurrence and nothing has been done to stop it. We are in trouble.”
Uche, who is the youth president of the Akpoha community, said Emmanuel Nwacha is the leader of Neighbourhood Security Watch in the area and also the Chief Security Officer of the company handling the construction of a new bridge in the community by the federal government.
He disclosed that many bullets were picked up by policemen in the community who evacuated the bodies of the deceased.
An aide to Governor Francis Nwifuru from the area, Kenneth Orji Obasi confirmed the incident.
Obasi, who is the coordinator of the Akpoha Development Centre, said the corpses of the victims have been deposited in the morgue.
He noted that he received a call that gunmen were shooting heavily on Akpoha junction around 8 pm on Saturday and dispatched some members of the Neighborhood Security Watch to the scene.
“On getting to the scene, I saw three persons lying dead on the ground. I have taken their corpses to the mortuary while the incident has been reported to the police” Obasi said.
Police spokesperson, Joshua Ukandu, said he was yet to receive any report on the incident.
