At least 10 people were killed in Anambra State on Monday evening when gunmen attacked Ogboji, a community in Orumba South Local Government Area of the state.

The incident happened at about 6p.m., PREMIUM TIMES gathered.

This newspaper also learned that most of the victims were from Ebonyi, another state in the South-east.

Witnesses said some Ebonyi indigenes were holding their monthly meeting when the hoodlums attacked them.

One of the witnesses, who asked not to be named, said the armed persons accused the indigenes of holding the meeting against them.

“They demanded our minute’s book, seized it and subsequently opened fire on us,” he said, adding that about 13 persons were killed at the spot.

The identities of the assailants were yet-to-be-ascertained.

Police speak

Tochukwu Ikenga, the police spokesperson in Anambra State, confirmed the attack and killings in a statement on Tuesday evening.

Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said the gunmen stormed the area in two SUVs and attacked some residents without provocation.

“The victims were rushed to the hospital and regrettably 10 people were confirmed dead,” he said.

“The bodies have been deposited in the morgue.”

The spokesperson said the police authorities in Anambra State have assured that they would track down the killers.

He said a joint security team led by the police had been deployed in the area and were already working to apprehend the attackers.

Group kicks

The Association of Non-Indigenes in Anambra State has condemned the deadly attack and asked authorities to investigate it.

President of the association, Chigozie Nweke in a statement on Tuesday, asked Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State to do everything within his powers to fish out the attackers.

Not the first time

Like other states in Nigeria’s South-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.

Hundreds of persons have been killed or abducted and several others injured in some of such attacks in the region.

The latest attack occurred less than a week after police confirmed that gunmen killed a man and abducted another in separate attacks in two Anambra Communities.

About three weeks ago, the Director of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Anambra State, Daniel Onyishi, was abducted.

Onyishi was released after 10 days in captivity.

In May, some gunmen killed four family members – a man, two wives and a daughter – in Isseke, a community in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra.

Two months ago, gunmen attacked a vigilante office in Amesi, a community in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.

One person was killed in the attack which occurred in late April.

The federal government has repeatedly accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region.

But the group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.

PT