Bloody Sit-At-Home, How 5 Soldiers Inside Armoured Vehicle, 4 Unknown Gunmen Died In Ihiala

A military armoured personnel carrier and barrier destruction vehicle conveying several soldiers who was first on a hot pursuit of suspected members of Biafra secessionist armed group known as unknown gunmen on Monday accidentally attacked a Hilux van conveying Unknown Gunmen who came in through Onitsha-Owerri road to block the retreating soldiers at Ezego junction in Ihiala local government area of Anambra state.

A visit to the scene of the attack shows the military armoured vehicle somersaulted severally across the distance of more than 6 electric poles right from Ezego junction where the armoured vehicle hit the Unknown Gunmen Hilux van, killing four of the attackers instantly.

Onlookers said the soldiers were retreating from Okija area and running out through the Ezego road when some group of Unknown Gunmen blocked them with Hilux van at Ezego T-junction by Onitsha-Owerri road.

It was gathered that the soldiers seeing the Unknown Gunmen used the armoured vehicle to hit and compress the Hilux van to the pillar at the entrance of the Ezego road and thereafter, the armoured vehicle started somersaulting towards the direction of Onitsha, and after the count of seven electric poles, the armoured vehicle stopped at a residential building directly opposite the Ihiala local government Headquarters and beside Thy Kingdom Mortuary Services along the Onitsha-Owerri road.

It was gathered that the wheels of the armoured vehicle pulled off while the vehicle was somersaulting.

Five of the soldiers inside the vehicle died and four of the unknown gunmen were burnt beyond recognition.

It was also gathered that the Unknown Gunmen were with some undisclosed nature of explosives inside the Hilux van which ignited the fire and also contributed to the impact that made the armoured vehicle to somersault repeatedly.

Our examination of the road shows that, the Ezego road is slopping and from the Ezego junction along the Onitsha-Owerri road to the Police Divisional/Area Command Headquarters is also very slopping.

Onlookers said the armoured vehicle while descending through the slopping Ezego road, hit the Unknown Gunmen Hilux vehicle and lost control when the vehicle veered off and started descending the very slopping portion of the Onitsha-Owerri road.