Gunmen on Thursday attacked the headquarters of the Ihiala local government area, killing three members of the community’s vigilante group and a member of the joint military/police patrol team.
They also set five buildings at the local government headquarters on fire.
The attack came less than three days after the corpses of four yet-to-be-identified persons were found dumped near the popular Nkwo Ogbe market in Ihiala.
The attackers beheaded one of the vigilante operatives they killed and removed his head.
The incident caused panic in the entire local government area and resulted in a traffic jam along the Onitsha-Owerri road.
Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the incident, stating that security agents neutralized one of the invaders and recovered some of the weapons abandoned by them.
According to a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Tochukwu Ikenga, “Following the Police/Military operations ongoing in Ihiala and its neighboring town, the operatives responding to a distress call of an attack on Ihiala local government headquarters, neutralized one of the attackers, recovered two locally made IED launcher, seven undetonated IED, forty pieces of live cartridges, fifteen live 7.62MM Ak47 ammunition, knives, charms, and other dangerous weapons.
“The attackers had already murdered three vigilante operatives on duty, beheaded one, and set five buildings ablaze with IED and petrol bombs.
“The joint force operatives engaged the arsonist/attackers, and obstructed them from causing further damages, while some escaped with bullet wounds.
“The bodies of the victims were recovered and joint operations are still ongoing. Further development shall be communicated, please,” PPRO Ikenga stated.
On 28 December 2022, gunmen invaded the Ihiala police divisional headquarters and threw explosives inside the premises, igniting a fire that affected the building.
Police said the attackers escaped the scene located along the Onitsha-Owerri Express road, "due to the superior firepower of the police operatives, and no casualty was recorded."
Crime.
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