Nigeria, May 9 -- Many people were killed on Thursday morning when gunmen blocked a highway in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, south-east Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the gunmen flagged down and razed several vehicles along Okigwe-Owerri Road between Umuna and Amuro communities.

While Umuna is a community in Onuimo Local Government Area, Amuro is in Okigwe Local Government Area of the state.

Multiple sources told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that the hoodlums killed many residents, especially when security operatives engaged the assailants in a shootout.

A resident of the area, Augustine Mbanusi, told this newspaper that over 20 vehicles, mainly tippers and trucks, were set ablaze by the attackers.

"Some soldiers and po...