Gunmen unleashed terror in the early hours of Wednesday in Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, shooting sporadically and setting several vehicles ablaze.
The assailants, dressed in mafia-style black outfits, reportedly arrived in Sienna vehicles and moved through the town, firing indiscriminately at residents.
Multiple sources indicate that several people sustained gunshot injuries, while others were fatally shot.
“It was like a scene from a gangster movie. They just started shooting everywhere,” one eyewitness recounted. “People ran for their lives. Vehicles were burning. It was chaos.”
The same eyewitness connected the attack to recent remarks made by Governor Charles Soludo during a visit to the United States, where he allegedly attributed the surge in killings and kidnappings in the southeast to certain individuals of Igbo origin. “That statement may have provoked something,” the witness said. “Governor Soludo needs to find a lasting solution. These attackers are more organised than all our security outfits put together.”
The Anambra State Police Command has since confirmed the incident.
Police spokesperson DSP Tochukwu Ikenga stated that two civilians were killed in the early morning assault, while one of the gunmen was neutralised during the police response. He also revealed that four of the attackers’ vehicles were recovered.
“Our Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, is a field man. He will not allow hoodlums to overrun Anambra State,” Ikenga declared. “Our men have taken control of the area.”
