Residents flee homes over soldiers’ invasion

Many natives of Akpawfu community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State have fled their homes following an alleged invasion of the community by soldiers said to have come from the 82 Division, Enugu.

Our correspondent learnt that owing to the killing of some policemen at checkpoints by unidentified gunmen in nearby communities in the area, the soldiers reportedly stormed the community, moving from house to house, arresting youths and ablebodied men found in the area.

It was further gathered that the soldiers, said to number more than 40, arrived in four armoured vehicles and other operational vehicles stationed at strategic positions in the community.

The soldiers were said to have alleged that the houses belonged to community members who they claimed harboured criminal elements.

According to our source, the gunmen who attacked the police checkpoints reportedly entered the community from the nearby Akpugo, and in the process, one of their Hilux vans somersaulted and caught fire near St Philip Catholic Church, Akpawfu.

“But the soldiers are thinking that the gunmen must have razed their vehicle to cover their tracks and they may be hiding within the area,” the native said.

Daily Trust Saturday also gathered that the soldiers’ activities have forced the once peaceful community to become desolate as most natives have fled, while those remaining are living in fear.

An attempt to speak with the deputy director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Enugu, Colonel Abubakar Abdullahi, was not successful as he did not respond to calls to his phone and a text message, at the time of filing this report.