While suspecting that the people who carried out the attack are were strangers in the state, he said there has never any misunderstanding between the deceased and people of the Umuaka community.

According to the Imo State Coordinator of Hausa traders, Mallam Ibrahim Abdulkadir, the first incident happened on Friday when three Suya sellers were about to close for the day.

He said some gunmen driving a Sienna car suddenly emerged and started shooting the unsuspecting victims.

He said in a similar manner, the same set of gunmen attacked four Hausa traders at Umuaka in Njaba.

Abdulkadir stated that Hausa traders in Orlu now live in fear, in addition to that, some of them have moved to Owerri, the state capital.

He said, ” Actually this issue started on Friday the 2nd of April. I was informed that three people had been murdered by some men driving a Siena car. The victims were Suya sellers.

“While we were still trying to handle the situation, I was called again  and told that four more people  had been killed by the same people.”

The corpses of the victims have been taken to Owerri in preparation for burial.

Hon. Sulaiman Ibrahim Sulaiman, The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Imo State on Gender, Vulnerable Groups, Northern Affairs (Men),  said the state government and all the units of security agencies, have dabbled into the matter.

While calling for peace to reign, Sulaiman said Governor Hope Uzodimma is very concerned about the incidents.

“We have just concluded a meeting with government officials and head of security agencies in the state. They’ve dabbled into the matter to ensure that peace is restored. We cannot continue like this. We must put a stop to this for the peace and security of our nation.”

While claiming that the killing is politically motivated, he assured the Northern community of the dedication of the government of Imo to putting an end to the attacks.

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