Soldiers invade vigilante office to recover seized items On July 29, 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

ENUGU—There was commotion at Igboeze North Local Government headquarters, Enugu Ezike, yesterday when some soldiers invaded the local vigilante office in a bid to recover some items said to have been seized from one of them by the vigilante people.

 

Army Army The soldiers who came in a Ford Pick- up van with registration number NA 46 B02 were said to have arrived at the local government at about 2 pm and allegedly man-handled the members of the Neighbourhood Watch before disarming them and destroying part of their offices. However, some of the neighbourhood watch members were said to have resisted the soldiers and blocked the road to stop them from escaping.

 

 Some local government staff were said to have also assisted the vigilante group, as they made bon-fires along the roundabout where the soldiers would have passed, thus blocking their way effectively.

 

The Divisional Police Officer, DPO, for Igboeze North who was present as the crises raged was overheard informing the police authorities in Enugu about the incident,, saying that the matter was earlier reported to his office by the soldier who claimed that some materials sent to him by his relation from abroad were seized.

 

As at the time newsmen visited the troubled area, the Army patrol van was seen sand-witched by three other operational vans belonging to the police even as the neighbourhood members who blocked the roads were diverting vehicles coming to the local government secretariat to other routes.

 

A police officer who came from the Police Area Command in Nsukka said that efforts were being made to clear the road for both the soldiers and the neighbourhood members to be taken to the nearby police station where the matter would be settled for the soldiers to leave.

 

“We would have left here for the Ogurute Police Station. We are waiting for a vulcanizer to pump one of the back tyres of the Army patrol van which went flat for us to leave.

 

” The Local Government Care-taker Committee Chairman, Nze Uwakwe Ezeja was being expected at the scene of the incident as at 5pm when the soldiers and the neighbourhood watch members were taken to the police station for the settlement of the issue.