Gunmen Attack Nigerian Army Checkpoint in Abia State, Issue Threats to Governor Alex Otti’s Administration

In a brazen assault early Wednesday morning, gunmen attacked a military checkpoint in Umuopara, Ekenobizi, within Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State. The attackers, dressed in black, were reportedly seen opening fire at the checkpoint, according to local sources. The incident took place near the Onu Imo boundary between Abia and Imo states.

A video circulating online captured the chaotic scene as the gunmen fired sporadically at the checkpoint. In the footage, one of the gunmen can be heard issuing a direct threat to Abia State Governor Alex Otti, explicitly warning him against maintaining military checkpoints in the area. The assailant, in an apparent attempt to intimidate the governor, declared, “Alex Chioma Otti, we are removing it. We don’t need this kind of nonsense again… If we see this nonsense again, you are gone, Alex.”

This incident is part of a growing trend of security challenges facing Abia and other southeastern states, which have seen a recent uptick in violence and attacks on security personnel and infrastructure. Earlier this week, soldiers from the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Barracks in Ohafia successfully repelled a separate attack by armed men on police and military checkpoints. That attack took place along the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway, where quick intervention from soldiers prevented the assailants from torching a police patrol vehicle.