•••Injure Many, Raze Vehicles, Shops
By Kamsi Anayo, Awka
At least ten persons on Saturday sustained gun and machete cut injuries with seven vehicles burnt when a combined team of Police, Army and Ebubeagu Security Operatives invaded Izombe community in Oguta Local Goverment Area of Imo state.
The heavily armed team equally destroyed and set ablaze about four buildings and 18 fully stocked shops located in the commercial communities of Umuokwu and Ugbele Izombe respectively.
Mr Sampson Uka, a victim told reporters on Saturday in Izombe that he was in the house with his children when suddenly the team stormed the compound.
He said, “I was inside the room when I started hearing gun shots and loud noise at the shops section of our compound.
“My wife even saw the heavily armed security operatives and they pointed a gun at her and ordered her to get inside.
“When their noise became less, we came out, and noticed that the shops section of our house were destroyed with seven vehicles burnt in Ugbele village alone,” he said.
Uka equally said that one Ethelbert Ozor, Simeon Onyekador, with six others sustained gun and machete cuts injuries inflicted on them by the group in Ugbele.
A Community leader, Pauly Igbokwe decried the repeated invasion of Izombe Community by Government Security Operatives.
“It was in October last year that more than 150 buildings were completely burnt and destroyed in Umuokwu, Umuorji and Ndioko all in Aborshi Izombe by soldiers over dispute they had with village boys.
“Nothing has been done on the colossal damage Innocent people suffered, and yet another attack is launched on the Izombe again,” he said.
Igbokwe said that they were still at the first Saturday combined Mass of Catholic Men Organisation and Catholic Women Organisation at Holy Family Catholic Church Izombe when they received calls on the attack.
“We were at mass with Anuli Nzeocha, a young widow, when she was informed that security operatives had set her shop on fire.
“Several people including the priest helped to calm her down,” he said.
Igbokwe appealed to the state government to look into repeated incidents of mass destruction of innocent people’s houses in Izombe and put a stop to it.
Others who spoke, Kelechi Ozor, Ifeanyi Osondu and Ndukwe Chidi expressed worries over the level of destruction being masterminded by security operatives and called on Gov. Hope Uzodinma to put a stop to the ugly development.
They advised government to thoroughly scrutinized intelligence gathered and track people suspected to be involved in a crime and pick them up rather than destroy innocent people’s houses.
Meanwhile, the Network gathered that the operation might not be unconnected with the gruesome murder of four policemen attached to the Agwa Police Division.
Two females out mab of the four policemen were murdered in the sleep while the two males were gunned down.
A source who spoke to the Network said that the security operatives got the intelligence that the attackers moved to Izombe after setting the police division on fire and killing the policemen.
