Soldiers have reportedly burnt markets, shops, and hotels in Oriendu, Umualumaku Umueze in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State following the killing of eight of their colleagues and other security operatives by gunmen in the area.
On Tuesday, gunmen shot and burnt eight officials of the Joint Task Force (JTF) at Eke Nku, Umualumaku in the local government area of the state.
The hoodlums were said to have taken the JTF team unawares, ambushed and shot them.
Sources said the victims comprised two Naval staff, two officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), two soldiers, and two police personnel.
However, according to Sahara Reporters, the soldiers resorted to the destruction of houses, markets and businesses in the area.
In a video seen on Wednesday, several shops, buildings, properties, food shops, and bars were completely razed by the rampaging soldiers seeking justice for their colleagues.
In the video, roads in the village looked deserted after the soldiers wreaked devastating havoc on the community.
The narrator in the video called on Nigerians to see the unfair treatment meted out to the community by Nigerian soldiers who should protect them.
The narrator who spoke in Igbo said, “We have suffered in this community. What do they want us to do in this community? That a crime was committed in this community does not mean that it is Ehime Mbano people who did it. You people should come to our rescue. Shops, bars, event centres, and food stalls were all burned down today by the military men of Nigeria.
“The people they destroyed their shops; were they the ones that committed the crime? Please, we are suffering in this community; leave us alone because things are bad. People are crying and asking what did we do?”
The narrator added that some indigenes of the community had fled into the bush.
Reports said residents of the area were currently living in fear for their lives.
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