A member of the Ebubeagu Security Network named Joseph Nwanja has been killed by gunmen near a security checkpoint in Ebonyi State.
The event was reported to have occurred at approximately 11:45 p.m. on Sunday in Okposi, a community in the state’s Ohaozara Local Government Area.
The state’s police have confirmed the killing.
Chris Anyanwu, a superintendent of police and the state’s police spokesman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they were aware of the death of the operator but had yet to learn the specifics of the incident.
Friday Nnanna, the Ebubeagu state commander, also verified the death of the agent.
“On Sunday, somebody called me that some hoodlums were disturbing people in Ugwulangwu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state. So, I have to call our people in the area because Ugwulangwu is under Ohaozara (Council Area),” he said.
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“The body of the victim has been deposited in the mortuary and investigation is ongoing,” Mr Nnanna stated.
Ebubeagu was established in 2021 by the governors of the five South-eastern states to assist in the fight against insecurity in the region, which has been plagued by fatal attacks tied to the Biafra movement of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The Ebonyi State Government-backed security force has been accused of violating human rights.
In the South-East, members of the group have also been accused of extrajudicial killings.
Along with other states in Nigeria’s south-east, Ebonyi has recently experienced an increase in deadly attacks.
The most recent incident occurred less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the convoy of the provost of the newly founded Federal College of Education Technical in Isu, a community in Onicha Local Government Area.
A Chinese expatriate was murdered in Iboko, a village in the Izzi Local Government Area, earlier in October.
In April, armed individuals assaulted police officers working for a construction company in Ikwo Local Government Area, of the state. One shooter was killed during the attack.
Steve Orogwu, chairman of the Ikwo Local Government Area of the state, had three of his family murdered in May by gunmen who assaulted his rural residence.
In June, three individuals were murdered by gunmen in the Ngbo Community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area.
In August, three people were slain by gunmen who raided a hotel in Isu, a community in the state’s Onicha Local Government Area.
In August, a security checkpoint on the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway in Ebonyi State was ambushed by gunmen, resulting in the death of one officer.
Last month, a member of Ebubeagu’s operatives was murdered in the Izzi Local Government Area community of Mpuma Ekwa-Oku.
The attacks, which primarily targeted security officials and government buildings, have been attributed to IPOB, a group that advocates for an independent state for Igbo-speaking people in the South-east.
However, the gang has denied involvement in the attacks on numerous occasions.
