No fewer than five persons were on Wednesday reportedly injured in a stampede following heavy shootings in Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State.
The shootings by masked security operatives over ownership of parks in the area caused pandemonium as residents scampered for safety.
Chairman of Amafor Nkpor community, Chief Emmanuel Idemili, in a chat with reporters, said the security operatives stormed the scene where his men were working, started shooting and chased his men away from duty post.
He said, “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.
“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.
“They 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.
“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.
“The shootings resulted in traders at Nkpor New Auto Spare Parks and Nkpor Relief Markets immediately shutting their shops and fled to safety.”
When contacted, accused former transition chairman, Chief Ashia denied involvement in the attack and sack of Amafor officials at the parks.
“The sack may have come from the State government in collaboration with ANSIPPA as the parks are owned and controlled by the state government,” he alleged.
However when contacted also, the Executive Director, Anambra Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA ), Chief Mark Okoye, confirmed it was government that sacked them not ANSIPPA.
Police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga however said he was not aware of the incident.
