Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
One hoodlum was shot dead Monday when some unknown gunmen operating in three vehicles attacked Aba, the economic nerve centre of Abia State.
The criminals were engaged in exchange of gunfire with military personnel at Osisioma area of Aba, where they were overwhelmed by the superior fire power of the military, according to the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu.
Kanu who addressed newsmen in Umuahia, said the criminals escaped with bullet wounds in one of their gateway vehicles, a Lexus SUV, while abandoning their other vehicle, a highlander jeep which was recovered by security agents.
He, however, explained that no security agent was killed during the attack.
The Information Commissioner pointed accusing fingers at unpatriotic elements unhappy with the level of development recorded by the Alex Otti-led administration.
He, however, said that the Governor had given a marching order for the perpetrators to be mauled down, vowing that no part of the state will be a breeding ground for criminals.
“The State Government has zero tolerance for criminal activities, and will not allow anybody to destroy the modest gains of the Otti-led administration,” he vowed.
On the number of casualties recorded during the attack, Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Navy Commander Macdonald Ubah (retd.), said that besides the one hoodlum killed at the scene of the attack, another member of the criminal gang who escaped with bullet wounds was also reported dead.
He said the fleeing criminals were trailed to a bush on the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway where they had gone to probably bury their dead colleague when they sighted security operatives and fled again.
The SA explained that apart from the two casualties from the attackers, no other casualties were so far recorded.
He said that Government had adopted a new approach in its determination to flush out criminal elements from the state.
