Gunmen have killed two personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Imo State, Nigeria’s south-east.
The gunmen also killed two staff members of the telecommunication giant, MTN, during the attack in the area.
The incident occurred on Monday at Ekelsu Market, Obiangwu, a community in the Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of the state.
Sources from the community said that the NSCDC personnel were in their vehicle heading to an undisclosed location when they were ambushed and killed by the gunmen.
A resident of the community, who asked not to be named, said a combined team of security agencies, mainly police and military personnel, had arrived in the community, apparently to avert a breakdown of law and order.
“Some soldiers were even evacuating the bodies of the NSCDC members,” he said.
The two slain personnel have been identified as Sixtus Onwusuruke and Simon Simon, who were assistant superintendent 2 and corps assistant 1 of the NSCDC, respectively.
When contacted on Monday evening, the spokesperson of the NSCDC in Imo State, Chimeziri Lowell, confirmed the incident.
Mr Lowell, a chief superintendent of the NSCDC, said the personnel were on routine patrol “monitoring critical national assets” when they were ambushed and killed by the attackers.
“The two others killed were officials of MTN. You know the NSCDC team was monitoring the MTN mast. So, the civilians (MTN officials) were among them,” he said.
Another NSCDC official in the state, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper that the gunmen took away arms belonging to the slain officials after killing them.
“We believe that the gunmen were clearly targeting the arms to use it for criminal activities,” the official said.
Worsening insecurity
Like other states in Nigeria’s south-east, security has deteriorated in Imo State with frequent attacks by armed persons.
The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.
The Nigerian government has accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
IPOB is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria
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