In the town of Abia, located in Ohafia Local Government Area, soldiers from the Nigerian Army have declared war on the Amangwu community because of an alleged missing soldier who was on leave.

The military personnel have already caused the deaths of ten locals and destroyed more than fifty homes in the town. According to the allegation, members of the 14 Brigade of the Nigerian Army stationed in Ohafia in the state of Abia are currently engaged in an undeclared war in the region.

It was said that the claimed missing soldier, who was on leave, had visited his village in Ikwun, which is located in the state of Cross Rivers. On his way back, it was reported that he got lost at the boundary between Amuma Ohafia and Amangwu (about 3 kilometres from Amangwu).

It was stated that members of the brigade had entered the community of Amangwu while hunting for the aforementioned missing soldier. It was reported that the soldiers fired their weapons randomly, causing the locals to flee in fear for their lives.

It was stated that the invading forces had arrested a large number of the natives, some of whom had not yet been seen.

Some of the locals who escaped the onslaught of the occupying forces into the nearby bushes and villages have not yet returned to their homes because it is reported that the military are still laying siege to the destroyed neighbourhood.

As the soldiers continue their assault, it is said that residents of Amangwu are being prevented from entering or leaving the town. It is also reported that some residents' homes have been broken into, and their belongings have been stolen.

An inhabitant of the region who identified himself as Umah and stated that he was speaking from his hiding place deep under the undergrowth claimed that his younger brother was one of those killed while riding a motorcycle on Sunday by soldiers who had set up an ambush against them.

He also revealed that a woman who had returned from Aba the previous week to bury her husband had passed away as a result of the military invasion, and her body had not yet been transported to the morgue because no one was able to enter their home to remove it. He said that the woman's husband had been buried in Aba.

"The woman came back a week ago to bury her husband, and on the first day of the invasion, she fainted and died. The body has not been carried to the mortuary because nobody is permitted to enter or exit Amangwu at this time."

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Kalu, a local poultry farmer, stated that he and his attendants abandoned their poultry farm together with more than one thousand birds and escaped the neighbourhood. He expressed his regret that he did not know what happened to the birds.

According to Kalu, "My community, Amangwu Ohafia, has been attacked by the army garrison in Ohafia while we were having this conversation." Since the invasion began on Thursday (of the previous week), the deaths of more than ten people have been reported.

He expressed his sadness by saying, "Yesterday (Sunday), two young people were shot to death, and the villagers have all fled into the jungle."

"In March of this year, Amangwu was invaded by the same army that was in Ohafia, and the army burned about forty houses; those houses are still there, but they have not been rebuilt yet.

"They claimed that they were searching for the IPOB as the reason for that mayhem, but I don't know what excuse they will offer for this one,"

The sons and daughters of Amangwu Ohafia, both at home and abroad, are making a plea to the army authorities to end the military siege of their community without any further delay. They claim that the alleged missing soldier was not in any way located within Amangwu. The plea comes as the military continues to surround the community.

Lt. Innocent Omale, the Army Public Relations Officer (APRO), was asked about himself after being contacted, and he responded by saying that he was "not in the image."

SaharaReporters was unsuccessful in its attempts to speak with the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, because he was unable to answer his phone calls or react to their text messages.