50 gunmen attack Enugu govt house

Security personnel foiled an attempt by
about 50 armed men to forcefully gain
control of the Enugu State Government
House in the early hours of Saturday.
Police officers, men of the Nigeria
Security and Civil Defence Corps and
soldiers were among the security
operatives who shot several times at
the invaders and prevented them from
gaining entry into the government
house.
We learnt that one of the
attackers was killed during the shoot-
out and three others were arrested.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor
Sullivan Chime, Mr. Chukwudi Achife
confirmed the incident.
He said the shoot-out lasted till about
4.30am, adding that no security
personnel was injured during the attack.
Achife added that the arrested persons,
along with some of the weapons, have
been handed over to the Enugu State
Police Command for further
investigations.
A police source told our correspondent
that the attackers arrived the
government house in seven buses and
parked about 400metres from the gate.
He said, "They carried flags with
different inscriptions and insignia
belonging to some secret cults."
They were said to have told the security
men to open the gate claiming that they
were at the government house on a
protest.
According to eyewitness account, when
one the NSCDC officials opened the
gate to ask why they decided to come in
the night, one of the invaders made
attempts to forcefully open the gate.
"Sensing that there was danger, the
security operatives rushed out only to
see many of them with machetes, giving
orders to their members to move into
the government house," said an
eyewitness.
It was gathered that the security
operatives succeeded in repelling them
after hours of shooting.
They had pursued them from the
government house premises into the
Independence Layout but only
succeeded in arresting three o f the
invaders.