Heavy Shootings In Anambra Community over ownership of parks, five injured

By Phil Okose, Onitsha

There was pandemonium over heavy shootings at Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, over ownership of parks, as masked security operatives took over the parks.

It was reported that no fewer than five persons were injured during  the stampede caused by the shootings from the masked security operatives.

Briefing newsmen on the development, the chairman of Amafor Nkpor community. Chief Emmanuel Idemili, said that the security operatives stormed the scene where his men were working, started shooting and chased his men away from duty post.

According to him “We are in charge of the parks, we got our permissions from the state government to generate revenue from the parks for the state government.

” Just this morning, I was at Awka on official assignment, when our men who are working at the parks called me and told me that masked security operatives stormed the parks under the fly-over bridge and started shooting indiscriminately, ordering them to vacate the place immediately, and they took to their heels.

“The shootings and attack from these security men may have come from the former transition chairman of Idemili North Local Government Area, Chief Raphael Nnabife Ashia,  because when he was the transition Committee chairman, he sacked us from the parks, telling us that the parks were owned and controlled by the State government and not the Amafor community.

“Ashia has been working under the cover of ANSIPPA to ensure that we are not working and collecting the revenue on behalf of the state government, because he claimed to have taken ownership of collection of revenue from the parks on behalf of the state government through his company, Pugaty Investment’

“I was told that over five people got injured during the stampede as a result of the heavy shootings of which I am yet to know if my members were involved as the shootings resulted in traders at Nkpor New Auto Spare Parks and Nkpor Relief Markets immediately shut their shops and fled to safety,” he further added.

In a swift reaction when contacted, the accused former transition chairman, Chief Ashia denied involvement in the attack and sack of Amafor officials at the parks, saying that the sack may have come from the State government in collaboration with ANSIPPA as the parks are owned and controlled by the state government.

However when contacted also, the Executive Director, Anambra Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA ),  Chief Mark Okoye, confirmed that it was the State government that sacked them not ANSIPPA.

Also when contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr Tochukwu Ikenga, (DSP), said that he was not aware of the incident