By Teddy Nwanunobi
About seven people – a police officer and six others – lost their lives on Monday, during an attack on a gas project site, Lee Engineering Company, in the Assa community in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, southern part of Nigeria, police said on Tuesday.
The police officer lost his life along with six employees of the oil and gas services company, which could not immediately be reached for comment.
It was gathered that the oil workers were on transit to their oil plant in the community when the hoodlums opened fire on them.
It was also gathered that the oil plant in the community was under construction by the oil company.
The National President of Congress of Ohaji Youths, Emmanuel Ugorji, who confirmed the attack, said that some community leaders and security agents, including himself, have visited the scene.
Ugorji, who called on the government to beef up security in the area, said that gunmen were terrorising the area in recent times.
“The first attack by this group was attacked on Oil Serve Company, and second was the kidnapping of the Cluster Development Board Chairman, Godswill Uzomba, whose whereabouts (has) remained unknown since three months now, and followed by (the) burning of ZEROC equipment at Watersmith industrial park by a known criminal gang,” he said.
The President General of the Assa autonomous community, Bartholomew Obodo, who also confirmed the attack, called on the federal government to come to the rescue of his people.
The Imo State police spokesman, Michael Abattam, said that the command has put in measures to guard to prevent further attacks on the workers in the area.
“We have declared the place a black spot and all efforts to arrest perpetrators are ongoing. The command has put in measures to guard the workers in the area since it is prone to attack,” Abattam.Attacks on oil and gas facilities have long been a problem in Nigeria, where the multi-billion dollar industry sits alongside impoverished communities that have seen little benefits from it.