AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
HOODLUMS have set the Central Police Station, in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, ablaze, as they invaded the state again on Monday.
The attack on the Abakaliki Central Police Station brings the number of attacks on police stations in the state to five since the onset of the #EndSARS protest.
Other stations that have been burnt are Ekeaba, Kpiripkiri, Okposi and Uburu police stations.
The Monday invasion led to the prompt suspension of Governor David Umahi’s scheduled meeting with contractors, as gunshot sounds filled the air.
On hearing the news of the mayhem, he left the meeting venue to put the situation in order.
The protesters, numbering about 50, wearing black and red attires, and chanting war songs, walked along major streets of Abakaliki, grinding activities to a halt, as all traders closed their shops.
Motorists, civil servants and private-sector workers were also trapped in their offices.
As of the time of filing this report, security agencies had blocked all roads, and surrounded the state prison to prevent a prison break.
Meanwhile, Umahi had yet to brief the press on the development.
The Point had reported that Umahi, last Wednesday, imposed a curfew on the state, following alleged attacks and destruction of government facilities by hoodlums and suspected cultists.
In a statewide broadcast, the State Governor had noted that the hoodlums made an attempt to set police stations within the state capital ablaze, adding that an attempt was also made to set prisoners free from the Abakaliki prison, which he said was resisted by security agents.
Governor Umahi further said that government vehicles and other facilities were attacked by the hoodlums, adding that many security agents sustained various degrees of injuries as the hoodlums and cultists shot at them.
He regretted that those that perpetrated the act were not Ebonyi people but agents brought into the state by yet to be identified individuals, noting that the hoodlums did not wish the state well.
He commended security agents for their patience and wisdom in tackling the matter and appealed to Ebonyi people to resist any plot by strangers to come into the state and destroy the modest achievement recorded by his administration.
He urged security agents to block all entry and exist borders of the state to ensure that miscreants did not find their way into the state from 7pm last Wednesday.
