UPDATE: ONE DEAD, THREE INJURED AS POLICE, SOLDIER CLASH IN EBONYI STATE

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Policemen and a soldier have clashed in Ebonyi, leading to the death of one passerby on Wednesday.

It was gathered that the incident happened at the Ugwuachara axis of the town after a squabble between policemen on a ‘stop and search’ duty and a military man on a bike.

An eyewitness said the soldier refused to be searched as the policemen tried to confiscate his motorbike.

During the process of the ensuing scuffle, one bystander was shot dead and three others sustained injuries when the soldier and the crack team of the police on stop and search duty were scuffling for the motorbike.

The Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, CP Anthonia Uche-Anya, confirmed the incident on a telephone call.

She said both the policeman and the soldier are in police custody while investigation has been launched to investigate the incident.

“Policemen on stop and search stop the purported soldier at that time, wanted to search him, he refused and there was a scuffle between them,” the CP said.

“The soldier was trying to disarm one of the police operatives and the bullet went off and hit a bystander. It’s not as if they just opened fire on an innocent bystander, just that during the scuffle, the bullet went off and hit by-stander.”

The CP stated that the three injured persons had been taken to the hospital and were responding to medical treatment while the corpse of the dead had been deposited at the morgue.

“One dead and three are injured but they’re responding to treatment. The ones that are in the hospital are responding to treatment.

“We’ve confirmed the purported soldier is a soldier, both the soldier and the policeman are in our custody and we’re investigating,” Uche-Anya added.