Reports trending on Monday over a bomb attack at Ogborafor market Izombie in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State is false and misleading.
According to multiple local sources, the hoodlums enforcing the Monday sit-at-home issued by the outlawed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) burnt a bus loading passengers to Ogbokor near Owerri.
A youth leader in Izombe said that what happened was just that a group of boys in Bike drove into Izombe from the direction of neighbouring Awa community and stopped at a motor park while shuttle buses were loading.
“They confronted the transporters why they were loading vehicles on a day they should sit at home and in the altercation that followed that bus was set ablaze.
An eyewitness narrated that after the bus burnt, the people still returned to loading vehicles at the park.
“The hoodlums did not waste much time before they fled otherwise, they may have been apprehended”.
“That was just what happened. It is blatant falsehood to report that a market was burnt in Izombe. No such thing happened”, the eyewitness clarified.
Another community source who do not want to be named told our correspondent that the reported bombing of Izombe was false.
He rather said that pro-Biafran group enforcing sit-at-home yesterday at Ogborafor Izombe only burnt one shuttle bus loading passengers to Ogbokor near Owerri.
According to the eye witness the hoodlums who came on motorcycles in their numbers ordered passengers down from the vehicle and poured petrol on the bus and set it on fire. He said that not even the passengers were beaten, but that the bad eggs retreated from the same direction, Awa-Izombe road through which they came shortly after the incident. The source said that people who scampered for safety during the attack thereafter returned to do their normal daily activities.
He regretted that a popular newspaper had reported the market was bombed describing it as false, urging media practitioners not to fuel insecurity in the state, but should rather investigate properly before going to the press.
“He said, I am challenging the reporter of Daily Sun, Stanley Uzoaru to visit Izombe today and check if any shop was burnt or bombed”, he said.
When contacted Imo police spokesperson, Micheal Abattam said such report is false and misleading.
Editor’s Note: This photo is for illustrative purpose
