Unidentified men riding on motorcycles and wielding AK-47 assault rifles on Saturday invaded Ebenebe community in Awka North Local Government Area, forcing indigenes to close their shops in observance of the Biafra Day celebration.

The secessionist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), had declared May 30 every year as Biafra Day to mourn those killed during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war nearly 60 years ago.

An eyewitness from the community said the men, who were just five in number, entered the community on motorcycles at about 10 a.m., carrying rifles and urging shop owners to close their businesses in honour of those who died during the war.

The source said their arrival caused a huge stir in the community, with shop owners hurriedly shutting down for the day.

He said: “At first, the men were not violent. They just urged people to close, telling them they could reopen by 4 p.m. But because of panic, people were running helter-skelter.

“They later left on their motorcycles, but we subsequently started hearing heavy gunfire and everyone began running. We learnt that they were confronted by operatives of the Agunechemba Security Outfit, resulting in a fierce gun battle.

“Throughout today, there have been gunshots. It ceased at a point because we learnt that the Agunechemba operatives overpowered them, but later this evening, we learnt the gunmen regrouped and returned to confront the security operatives.

“They had been shooting from this evening until about an hour ago. Everyone is afraid and people have retreated into their homes for fear of being hit by stray bullets. Everywhere is deserted as I speak to you, and we do not know what will happen tonight,” the terrified source stated.

It was, however, not clear if any casualties were recorded in the incident, while the true identity of the men had yet to be ascertained.

Attempts to reach Comrade Nweke Nweke, spokesperson for the Agunechemba Security Outfit, were unsuccessful as both his phone lines were unreachable.

Police authorities in the state had also yet to comment on the incident as of the time of filing this report.