By Pamela Eboh
Youths of Ogbunike community in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State alleged to be ex- convicts on Monday invaded the community attacking people, stealing, phones, money and ATM cards.
The attackers numbering about twenty who were said to have been recently released from jail stormed the community shooting indiscriminately and robbing villagers of their personal effects, even while attacking seventeen people
They also stormed the home of late Pa Samuel Okwudili Nwosu at Ifite Ogbunike whose funeral is slated to hold in January next year and attacked workers carrying out renovation work at the buildings in the compound.
So far about seventeen persons were injured while two persons who were badly injured were taken to a local hospital, but it is not clear if they would survive the bullet wounds on them.
Narrating their benefactors ordeal in the hands of the gunmen the contractor at the compound Mr Egwim Ogomegbunam said;
“I was at the compound with two of my workers and six labourers when they came into the compound shooting any how and people started running away and they attacked me with matchet and wounded me at my left hand and my back”
“They were many I think about twenty of them and we could not defend ourselves and after that they came back again and attacked more people who thought that they had gone ” he said.
On his part, the son of late Pa Samuel Okwudili Nwoso, Mr Ekenechukwu Anthony Nwosu who was with his younger brother at the compound when the incident occured said;
“We were inside one of the buildings when we heard shootings and we had to hide for safety and was watching what was going on and the criminals came into the compound and were shooting and attacking people ”
“They attacked the workers in our home and after that they came back and attacked some other compounds and them as they were going they were robbing villagers collecting phones , money and ATM cards ”
“The thing that shocked us was that they are youths from our community who we already know as criminals and most of them are ex- convicts who were recently released from prison after serving their jail terms ”
He further said that the community has made official complaints with the State Criminal Investigation Department at Awkuzu in Oyi local government area adding that the department has commenced investigation on the incident.
Though the community is still waiting for the state police action, most of the villagers have fled the community for fear of another attack by the gunmen.
