Truck carrying spare parts ‘worth about N30m’ set ablaze in Enugu

Suspected hoodlums have set ablaze a truck carrying spare parts in Nsukka, Enugu state.

The vehicle, which was conveying spare parts from Nnewi in Anambra to Kabba in Kogi, was said to have been burnt at Eluagu, Obupka, in Nsukka LGA, around 6:35am.

According to NAN, an eyewitness who pleaded anonymity said about six hoodlums set fire to the truck.

“These hoodlums were chasing some tricycle operators picking passengers on that road, when they saw the vehicle parked along the road,” the eyewitness said.

“Nobody was inside that vehicle when the hoodlums set it ablaze. I suspect the driver ran way.”

Speaking with NAN on the incident, Fabian Eze, the driver of the vehicle, said he left Nnewi on Sunday night, and parked in Eluagu by 6am over fear of being attacked by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), following the sit-at-home order earlier declared by the group.

IPOB had, however, ordered the suspension of the sit-at-home order.

“I parked the vehicle. My conductor and I left to find where we could find something to eat,” Eze said.

“From where we were looking for something to eat, we heard people running from the main road, shouting a big vehicle parked on the main road has been set on fire by hoodlums.

“I and my conductor rushed to the main road, only to see our vehicle completely burnt.

“Even the N210,000 in the vehicle we were using to run expenses also got burnt. The spare parts we have in the vehicle belong to many spare parts traders in Kabba in Kogi state, and it is worth about N30 million.

“I am afraid if the owners of the vehicle and spare parts will tell me to pay for the burnt vehicle and spare parts.”

When contacted, Daniel Ndukwe, police public relations officer in Enugu, confirmed the incident, but said no formal report has been received.

“Information surrounding the truck found on fire this Monday morning at Eluagu, Obukpa, in Nsukka LGA is sketchy,” he said, adding that preliminary investigation into the incident has begun.