Each day that comes by in Eastern Nigeria bears new dread over the unending case of gunmen terrorizing towns and villages.
The recent gunmen rampage was in Anambra State which went on from Sunday till Monday as they embarked on a killing and burning spree. As a result, two soldiers were killed, a lawmaker was kidnapped, the local government secretariat, an office of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), a magistrate’s court building and 32 vehicles were set on fire.
This attack in Anambra state is coming only three days after the State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, visited the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in the custody of the Department of State Services.
The gunmen on Sunday shot dead a vigilante at the Eke Oko community in the Aguata Local Government Area.
The victim, who was on a motorcycle, was putting on a mobile police T-shirt when the gunmen overtook and shot him dead.
According to Tochukwu Ikenga, the State Police Public Relations Officer said policemen recovered the victim’s lifeless body. “Preliminary information shows that the yet-to-be-identified victim is not a member of the Nigeria Police Force,” he added.
Gunmen also stormed the Idemili North LGA secretariat in Ogidi on the same night and set ablaze the secretariat office and a magistrate’s court on the council premises.
According to sources, the gunmen burnt all files and property in the secretariat.
Over 32 vehicles parked inside the secretariat were also reportedly set on fire.
The police spokesman, Ikenga, attributed the incident to unidentified arsonists.
It was also gathered that the gunmen proceeded to the Ogidi district office of the EEDC, not far from the secretariat and set it ablaze.
Items burnt during this incident were rounded up to about 32 utility and operational vehicles, including other assets and equipment on the premises.
They also gained access to the office complex by pulling down part of the wall and attacking the security guard manning the office. They also cut the guard’s leg and arm with a machete as they demanded his gun, while his other colleagues ran for their lives.
The Head of Corporate and Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, noted that efforts made to reach the Anambra State Fire Service did not yield any positive results.
He noted that the members of the staff present were helpless as they watched the office building, cars and assets burn.
He said, “it later took the intervention of the Commissioner for Utilities, Mr Julius Chukwuemeka, around 9.05 am to bring the fire service team down to the scene of the accident.
“This is a big loss to EEDC and a great setback to the efforts being made by the company to strengthen its network and improve the quality of services to its customers within Ogidi and Anambra State at large.”
In a different incident and scenario, another group of gunmen kidnapped a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Dr Okechukwu Okoye.
The lawmaker who is popularly known as Okey Di Okay was kidnapped late on Sunday while driving his Sienna car.
The police spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the lawmaker’s black Sienna bus, which he was driving before the incident, had been recovered, adding that the command had launched a manhunt for the kidnappers with the aim of rescuing the lawmaker.
