There was pandemonium yesterday at the Imo State Secretariat, Owerri, as civil servants scampered for safety, following gunshots between the police and the state government sponsored Ebubeagu militia.
It was gathered that the sporadic shooting had resulted in a stampede which resulted in many of the civil servants sustaining varying degrees of injuries, as they tried to scale the perimeter fence to escape from the scene.
A witness claimed that an operative of the Ebubeagu group was allegedly being bullied by a group of policemen near the state’s Attorney General’s office, situated at Block 10. Almost immediately, other operatives of Ebubeagu appeared from nowhere and engaged the policemen. As the policemen shot into the air, the Ebubeagu operatives also started shooting sporadically into the air. Although, no one was shot.
“As a result of this, there was a stampede at the Secretariat which led to some workers sustaining varying degrees of injuries.”
A civil servant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the policemen accused operatives of the Ebubeagu of overstepping their bounds and trying to usurp the duties of the police command.
He said: “It started with a little argument when a policeman accused the Ebubeagu operative of over-using his power, and it soon degenerated to a fight and shooting of guns.”
Another civil servant, who did not want his name mentioned, disclosed that at about 10:30am, there was shooting at Block 10, around the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. He said the shooting by the police and Ebubeagu caused a stampede as many civil servants sustained injuries while fleeing for safety.
Meanwhile, the government of Imo State has debunked news of gunmen attacking the workers at the state secretariat during working hours.
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Oguwike Nwachuku, in a release, said what was witnessed at the secretariat was the police trailing a suspect, in order to effect his arrest over an alleged crime, when some gunshots were released into the air.
“There was no such incident involving gunmen as being peddled in some quarters. It was an attempt to effect the person’s arrest that the police fired warning shots at the secretariat. Members of the public are, therefore, advised to ignore any information linking the incident to gunmen as there was nothing of such.”
