Soldiers Of 14 Brigade Repel Attack On Outpost By Gunmen In Abia

Soldiers of 14 Brigade Headquarters, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s Barracks, Ohafia attached to 144 Battalion have reportedly repelled gunmen that attacked their outpost in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State.

The incident was said to have happened at about 10pm Monday night.

The gunmen was said to have aimed at attacking and dislodging soldiers on duty at the army outpost located at No. 1 Ngwa road by Port Harcourt road/Cemetery roundabout in Aba South local government area of the state.

Information about the incident was still sketchy at the time of filing the report, but our correspondent gathered that the superior firing weapons of the soldiers on duty helped the soldiers to overpower the attackers who were reportedly firing at the military outpost from the Ngwa road and Port Harcourt road axis.

It was gathered that residents of the area were thrown into panic mood following the incident.

Some of the residents who said that it was the first time they were hearing such level of gunshots, claimed that they couldn’t sleep last night as they feared that there could be another round of gunshots between the soldiers and their attackers.

“It was the first time in my life that I heard such a gunshot.

“We were still not asleep when we began to hear gunshots. We were all confused, but I had to ask my children and my apprentices to lay on the floor to avoid accidental injury or death.

“At first, we thought it was bank robbery because of the banks around us. We were forced to turn off our generators in the heat of the gunshots

“It was later that we got the information that it was between soldiers and some armed men”, narrated a resident of the area who spoke anonymously.

The Army Public Relations Officer (APRO) of 14 Brigade, Lt. Innocent Omale was yet to respond to a text message sent to his mobile phone number as he could not equally take calls placed on his phone.

However, a source from the Brigade headquarters who confirmed the attack disclosed that they got through credible information that the attackers were members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) whose activities on the Ngwa road axis of Aba have been put on check following the presence of the army outpost at Cemetery junction.

According to the source, when the personnel who came as backup arrived the scene and combed the area including adjourning streets, they were able to spot traces of blood, giving an indication that some of the attackers sustained gunshots injuries.