Tension in South East as gunmen attack Anambra Police Station, officers feared killed

There was tension in Ajalli, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State on Thursday afternoon after armed men attacked a police station, with some officers feared killed.

The building was also set ablaze and some persons who are most likely suspects in police custody were feared trapped in the building.

While the police have confirmed the incident, they have, however, made no mention of any deaths, despite viral videos on social media that showed otherwise.

“The CP noted that today, 30th September 2021, some yet to be identified heavily armed men stormed the Ajali Divisional Headquarters of the State and fired sporadically at police personnel on duty,” the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, said in a statement on Thursday evening.

“They were, however, promptly engaged by the police officers before they fled the scene. Unfortunately, two (2) police personnel and a civilian sustained gunshot injury, while a patrol vehicle went in flames and the Police Station was partly torched,” the police said.

According to the statement, a joint team of police and military personnel immediately trailed the fleeing attackers and intercepted them along OKo Ajali road before the attackers escaped with gunshot injuries. “The operatives recovered a highlander jeep and two motorcycles.”

Another incident also occurred along the Nnobi-Nnewi road of the state where some hoodlums reportedly shot a vehicle driver and abducted other occupants of the vehicle.

“Investigations into the incidents are ongoing while efforts are being intensified to identify and rescue the occupants of the vehicle,” DSP Tochukwu said.

While condemning the unfortunate incidents, the CP called on citizens in the state to be calm, patriotic and go about their lawful businesses as the police, adding that the military and other security agencies are already rejigging strategies to contain the situation and prevent any further threats to lives and property in the state.

He vowed that the perpetrators of these dastardly acts will not go unpunished.

The attack comes just days after the murder of Dr. Chike Akunyili, the husband of the late former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dora Akunyili, and others in the state.

Dr. Chike Akunyili was killed by the gunmen on Tuesday alongside his driver and a police escort around the Nkpor junction in Idemili North, Anambra State.

A family source confirmed the news on Wednesday.

He was said to have been returning from an event where he received a posthumous award of excellence for his late wife when he ran into the hoodlums at Nkpor and was murdered in cold blood.

Meanwhile, Governor Willie Obiano has placed a ₦20 million bounty on the perpetrators of the gruesome killing.

The Governor said that the sum will be awarded to anyone who is able to provide useful information to track the killers.

He said this in a special broadcast after an emergency State Security Council meeting at the Governor’s lodge in Amawbia on Wednesday, while condoling with the Akunyili family, as well as families of others who were killed in the attack.

Governor Obiano condemned the attack, calling on residents to join forces with security agencies to confront the common enemy and protect the state.

Speaking further, he lamented that from Sunday, September 26, till date, over 10 persons have been killed in various areas of the state.

Courtesy (excluding headline) Channels TV