Activities at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli campus, have been temporarily suspended over the attacks by armed hoodlums operating within the Ihiala Local Government Area, Anambra State.
Uli community, where the state-owned institution is located, is within the Ihiala LGA, a border town in Anambra, where the high rate of unknown gunmen activities have been recorded.
It was gathered that these attackers, who allegedly came from neighbouring communities, carried out calculated “hit and run” operations in the localities, thereby throwing the staff of the institution into a panic.
A top academic staff of the institution, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, said, “Due to increased activities of these hoodlums, academic and non-academic staff of the university are always in a panic mood when coming to work.
“The gunmen shot sporadically at the popular Total Filling Station along the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway, on Tuesday, thereby scaring the people out of the road in the guise of enforcing sit-at-home, which they claimed would last from Monday to Thursday this week.
“As a result of this, all scheduled meetings and lectures at the Uli campus this week have been cancelled by the various heads of departments and units. The authorities at the institution’s administrative headquarters at Igbariam, Anambra East Local Government Area have been briefed on the development.”
It was also gathered that gunmen had earlier barricaded the famous Nkwo Ogbe Main Market, Ihiala, on Tuesday, thereby halting both commercial and economic activities while claiming to be enforcing a sit-at-home declared by a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra last week.
When contacted on the development, the state Police Command said normalcy had returned to the area following the improved operational and strategic positioning of both human and viable assets of the command by the joint security forces comprising the Police and Military.
Ikenga confirmed that hoodlums suspected to be members of IPOB, and the Eastern Security Network, on Tuesday, came out in their numbers on motorbikes and started shooting sporadically, in an attempt to disrupt commercial activities and vehicular movement in Ihiala.
He said, “The joint operatives responded swiftly, which made the armed men abandon their evil plan and took to their heels. Unfortunately, due to the indiscriminate shootings by the armed group, a stray bullet hit the chief security officer, CSO, of a bank on the leg and he was taken to the hospital where he is currently receiving treatment. No life was lost.
“Calm has returned to the area as the Police and other security forces have intensified patrols and improved security surveillance in the area.”
