We proceeded to the venue. When we got there, we saw people on the floor. They shot directly at people
Many members of the Labour Party(LP) in Ebonyi State have been injured following an attack on the party’s rally venue by gunmen in the state.
The incident, it was gathered, occurred at Okposi, Ohaozara local government area on Saturday.
The gunmen, the party alleged, are members of Ebonyi state Command of Ebubeagu South-east Security Outfit.
Ebubeagu is a security outfit in the South-east that is backed by the Ebonyi State Government and other state governments in the region.
The gunmen, according to the Labour Party House of Assembly candidate for Ohaozara East Constituency, Hon. David Ogbonna, allegedly pushed a woman and she hit her head on a hard concrete surface.
He said the woman was rushed to hospital where she has remained unconscious as doctors battle to save her life.
Mr Ogbonna also alleged that the attackers shot at the party faithful and inflicted varying degrees of gunshot injuries on at least three of them.
He alleged that the gunmen were led by the Chairman of Ohaozara local government area, Consider Ajah.
Mr Ogbonna said: “We scheduled a meeting with our supporters at Okposi community to lady, Mr Nkemkanma Kama was supposed to be there. We were to receive defectors from PDP, APC and other parties.
“On the road that led from the local government, we saw many car parked on the road including a Mercedes Benz belonging to Consider, the local government Chairman.
“I told people that this is the chairman and asked if they have any programme where we are going they said they don’t know.
“As we were going, they suddenly passed us with speed. When we got to Okposi we saw them barricading the entire road. We made a detour towards Onicha local government because we didn’t want our security to have any altercations with them.
“We stopped at a place and made calls and then decided to go back and asked them why they are barricading the road leading to where we are having our programme.
“When we got there, we didn’t see them. We proceeded to the venue. When we got there, we saw people on the floor. They shot directly at people. Then a woman who ran into an uproar, they pursued her to the three storey building and pushed her from there and she fell down.
“She was rushed to the hospital and the report we are getting is that she is unconscious. We saw people with bullet wound injuries. We have taken them to hospital”, he said.
In a statement he issued on Sunday, Mr Ogbonna further narrated how the gunmen invaded the venue.
He wrote: “Yesterday, as party faithful gathered at our (Labour Party) office at Mgbom-Okposi, waiting for the arrival of the Labour Party Candidate for Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo federal constituency – Nkemkanma Kama, the men of Ebubeagu Security Network led by Ohaozara Local Government Chairman invaded the venue.