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…as community leaders calls for Soludo’s intervention
From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The combined team of security operatives has sacked members of Amafor Nkpor community and traders operating under the Nkpor flyover bridge in Idemili North local government area of Anambra State.
The security operatives who came and started shooting sporadically to sack community leaders and traders operating under the under the bridge thereby causing tension.
The situation made the community leaders, traders and passersby to run hilter- shelter, scampering for their lives.
But, the Chairman of Amafor Nkpor Agu, Sir. Emmanuel Idemili community flanged with other leaders of the community while addressing newmen condemned the attacks on their people, stressing that the community has been doing business under the bridge since 1999 without any disturbance and wondered why security operatives came to attack them.
He called on governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene and investigate the action of the security operatives who he said, their motives were not known, adding that it took the grace of God to safeguard his people from several gun shots released to scare the people.
Sir Idemili said that the community has been doing business under the bridge based on the federal Ministry of Works authority paper given to them to operate where it controls the parks and markets to generate revenue and remit to the state government without any rancour.
“We are surprise today to see some masked security operatives who stormed our area particularly at the flyover bridge and started shooting indiscriminately to cause tension. As we are now I’m not sure how many people that were injured because many people ran into different directions. So, as of now I don’t know whether there was any causality or not but everybody closed shops and ran for dear lives.
“Although we had issues with then local government authority where they told us to leave the area but a meeting was held where it was settled amicable and we continued with our business. So, I don’t know why they came to attack us today. I want governor Soludo to intervene and look into the matter and resolve it to avoid further disturbances.
“Now, traders and others doing business under the bridge have been thrown into suffering and hardship because they shut their businesses unduly and may be afraid to come out tomorrow if, it is not resolved” Idemili stated.
Efforts to reach, the Police Public Relations Mr. Tochukwu Ikenga proved abortive as his phone contact was not connecting, when the reporter called.
But, a government official who doesn’t want to be named said that the community leaders, traders and hoodlums were told to vacate under bridge for free flow of traffic but they refused.
He said that the place belonged to state government despite the fact that the road is a federal government road, stressing that the state built the flyover bridge based on the approval of the federal government where all compensations were paid to the land owners and wonders why the community leaders refused to vacate the place and continue to extort money from innocent citizens.
