1 killed as gunmen set Anambra government secretariat ablaze
At least one person was reportedly killed after gunmen attacked Nnewi South local Government area secretariat in Ukpor, Anambra state.
The incident took place on Thursday morning, eyewitnesses said, adding that the deceased was a security officer.
The gunmen, reports said, set the secretariat on fire, causing tension to envelop the area where residents now fear for their safety.
Anambra police spokesperson Ikenga Tochukwu, according to The Nation, said he was yet to confirm the casualty figure.
He said police officers and the fire brigade had been deployed to restore order. Tochukwu further said Anambra’s police commissioner had gone to the scene to assess things for himself. He said that it was a case of arson.
Ukpor in Nnewi South is the local government area of some notable politicians, including first Minister of Aviation, Mbazulike Amechi, 92; former House of Representatives member, Hon Cyril Maduabom and former Anambra Speaker Hon Rita Maduagwu among others.
Anambra and other areas of the South-East, known in the past for tranquillity, had fallen prey to insecurity following the federal government’s move to criminalise the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), a group that wants the region to secede from Nigeria.
Unknown gunmen have been carrying out attacks in several parts of the region, with the government blaming the assaults on IPOB’s militia wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
The group, led by detained separatist Nnamdi Kanu, had in recent times imposed an every-Monday sit-at-home order on the region. The group’s decision to reverse the trend has not returned the lost peace.
