Armed attack by about 50 young men on Government House, Enugu in the early hours of yesterday was repelled by security operatives attached to the state seat of power.
There was heavy shooting by the security operatives comprising policemen, men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and soldiers who prevented the assailants from gaining entry into the official residence of Governor Sullivan Chime.
One of the invaders was shot dead, three arrested while others escaped. Several machetes were recovered from them.
Although the mission of the young men, who were said to be armed with machetes and carrying flags with different inscriptions and insignia belonging to some secret cults, was unknown, an eyewitness said they arrived the Government House at about 4.30 am in buses.
They reportedly parked their vehicles and marched to the Government House gate where they met security operatives.
The attackers were said to have told the security men to open the gate claiming they were at the Government House on protest, but when one the NSCDC officials opened the gate to ask why they decided to come in the night, one of the invaders attacked him with machete and tried to force the gate open for his colleagues to go in.
This attracted other security operatives in the Government House who rushed out only to see many of attackers carrying machetes and were giving orders to their colleagues to move into the Government House.
The Chief Security Officer to Chime, Mr. Fidelis Ogarabe, DSP, who rushed to the scene after he was alerted by his men, immediately took control of the situation as the security operatives repelled the invaders after hours of shooting.
The security operatives pursued the assailants from the Government House premises into the Independence Layout. It was in the process that three of the attackers were arrested while another was shot dead.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Chime, Mr. Chukwudi Achife, confirmed the attack, yesterday, saying vigilant security personnel attached to the Government House Enugu early this morning foiled an armed attack on the Government House.”
Achife narrated further: “The attack occurred when at about 4.30 am a group of young men numbering about 50 and carrying machetes and cutlasses invaded the Government House and tried to force their way in.
“The attackers were immediately engaged by the security personnel who shot dead one person and arrested three. One security personnel was injured in the attack.
The governor’s spokesman added that the arrested persons along with some of the weapons recovered (matchetes) have since been handed over to the Enugu State Police Command for further investigations.
Meanwhile, the three suspects who were taken to the New Haven Police station were later transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad office along the Enugu–Onitsha expressway.
The three suspects, sources said, identified themselves as natives of Aguleri, Anambra East. Local Government Area of Anambra State.....Vanguard
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