There was panic at Ogbaku market on Owerri – Onitsha Road in Owerri, Imo State, on Tuesday as gunmen invaded the market and shot a motorcyclist dead.

This happened while the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, was in at the Government House Owerri to inaugurate the 12 Armoured Personnel Carriers procured by the state government to fight banditry in the state.

Sources at the market told our correspondent that the gunmen who struck operated in a sienna vehicle and came from Oguta Road.

On reaching the market, one of the sources who doesn’t want to be mentioned said that the gunmen identified their target and ordered him to enter their vehicle but he refused.

The source said, “The man they killed is an Okada rider. They came in a sienna vehicle from Oguta Road. On reaching the market, they identified the Okada man called Chima and ordered him to join them in their vehicle.

“The Okada man refused. They told him three times, but he insisted. They got infuriated and shot him three times, and he died on the spot before they drove off. They also shot in the air while zooming off.”

The Secretary General of Ogbaku Youth Association, Justice Nwafor, who confirmed the killing to our correspondent, said that the remains of the victims had been evacuated from the scene.

He also told our correspondent that the youth body had reported the incident to the Ogbaku Divisional police headquarters and that the deceased’s motorcycle had been taken to the police station.

The spokesperson for the police in the state, Michael Abattam, had yet to respond to an inquiry concerning the incident. (The PUNCH)