Gunmen and soldiers engaged in combat in Ohafia, Abia State, on Wednesday, purportedly resulting in the deaths of three people, one of whom was a soldier.
Orji Kalu, the Senate Chief Whip and the senator for Abia North, who was in Ohafia at the time of the incident, is said to have fled the town in the resulting chaos.
However, there were conflicting accounts of what actually transpired, with some sources claiming that the gunmen pursued the former governor out of Ohafia.
He was never forced out of the town, according to a person close to him, who dismissed the story as a lie.
When the incident occurred, Senator Kalu had continued his ward-to-ward tour of the zone by travelling to Ohafia.
The gunmen allegedly told the senator to avoid Ohafia in his political activities, according to one of the accounts.
They claimed that he was the target of suppressed ire due to a supposed lack of concern for the suffering of the region, which has been severely attacked by robbers thought to be herders.
Additionally, it was said that some of his constituents disapprove of the Senator’s purported support for the Muslim-Muslim ticket and the Northern presidency rather than expressing the same concern for the issue of insecurity in the zone.
According to sources, when the senator chose to travel to Ohafia, gunmen attacked the location of his visit and began firing into the air, obviously feeling dared. “It was reported that the Senator and his entourage hurried for safety and sought refuge at the 14 Brigade Nigerian Army Headquarters.
Additional information from local sources claimed that the gunmen later barricaded Asaga intersection, ostensibly to ambush the former governor as he left Ohafia. Later, they allegedly engaged in a gunfight with soldiers who were transporting the former governor back to his Igbere Community.
The Senate Chief Whip and his entourage toured some localities in Ohafia, including Okon and Amangwu, before arriving in Ebem without incident, according to Kalu’s ally who begged for anonymity.
According to him, the gunmen attacked the location where the senator was conducting a meeting with his Ebem hosts and declared they did not want politicians organising any sort of political gathering nearby.
He claims that after learning it was Senator Kalu, they withdrew and encouraged him to continue with his plan.
”But unfortunately, I don’t know the issue they had with a soldier when they left the place that resulted into a quarrel between them and soldiers.
”Even when Senator Kalu was going, some of the boys were hailing him. Nobody chased him out of Ohafia. It was a pure lie.”
