Metro
Enugu: Fulani herdsmen engaged police, soldiers in shootout, CP says
The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Nwodibo Ekechukwu, has provided fresh insight into the attack on an Enugu community by Fulani herdsmen, alleging that the attackers engaged policemen and soldiers deployed to the area in a shootout.
The CP stated this while he was debunking insinuations that the police did not act when it received information that the herdsmen were planning to attack Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani local government area of the state.
Speaking further, the Enugu police boss said the intention of the attackers was to attack the centre of the town, noting that the security forces engaged them in a shoot-out and thwarted their plan to stage a massive attack.
Read also: Fulani Herdsmen: MASSOB issues 30 days ultimatum to FG
Ekechukwu said: “We massively deployed policemen in Uzo-uwani when we got information that the place is under threat, anyone saying we didn’t deploy sufficiently would not have been on the ground and so cannot say what happened.
“Sufficient police officers were deployed, but the community is very vast; Nimbo is in Uzo-uwani Local Government Area and it has boundaries with Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue and Kogi States.
“Our men were supported by soldiers and they prevented the attackers from coming to the centre of the community. The attack took place at the fringe of the town and my men engaged the attackers in a shoot-out and prevented them from coming to the centre of the town which was their target.”
On whether arrests have been made, the CP declined to comment, saying, “It’s an on-going thing, it’s a process, so we want to be silent on that.”
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