The recent killing of over 10 indigenes of Ebonyi State at Ogboji, in Orumba South Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State, is barbaric and condemnable. The victims were killed by some assailants during a community meeting. Many others were injured. A survivor of the killings and member of the Ebonyi State Welfare Association in Ogboji, Onuoha Godwin, reportedly said the gun-wielding attackers struck towards evening when they were about to close their meeting. “We thought they were policemen who came for mass arrests. We didn’t know they were on a mission to kill us,” he said.
According to him, the assailants ordered everyone to lie down, identified the Chairman of the Ogboji branch of the association, Augustine Odogwu, and shot him dead instantly. They also shot Godwin and some others.
The Anambra State Government said the attack was probably caused by internal squabble within the association. The state Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, said contrary to speculations, the attack was not targeted at any particular state or ethnic group. He said Anambra was deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the attack and commiserated with the families of the victims. The state urged the police to conduct a thorough investigation, identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
The Ebonyi State Government also condemned the heinous attack. Governor Francis Nwifuru described the incident as “senseless, barbaric and an affront to peace, unity and the sanctity of human life.” He vowed to seek justice for the victims. Police preliminary investigations indicated that there was leadership dispute within the Association of Ebonyi State indigenes in Ogboji. The fatal incident reportedly occurred during the meeting convened by the factional leader of the association. The President General of Ogboji reportedly tried to resolve the conflict, but this rather escalated tension.
Good enough, some arrests have been made. A suspect, Sunday Mbanu, is in police custody. The suspect was said to be assisting the law enforcement authorities with their investigation. The remaining culprits must equally be arrested. It is sad that the Ogboji axis and some other parts of the state have of recent become the hotbed of kidnapping, killings, and sundry criminality.
Last month, some gunmen also shot and killed people while injuring others at Oko in Orumba North LGA of the state. The police in the state identified it as a cult clash and that two people were killed. Local reports indicated that more than two people were killed. Two lecturers at the Federal Polytechnic Oko were said to have been kidnapped.
In October 2024, Nibo community in Awka South witnessed a similar cult-related clash which led to the death of about 16 people. In 2022, gunmen suspected to be cultists brutally murdered no fewer than 20 mourners at a funeral at Ebenebe in Awka-North LGA.
Earlier this year, some gunmen attacked and killed three kids of the same parents at their home in Nnewichi in Nnewi North LGA of Anambra State. The assailants dumped the bodies of the kids in a deep freezer inside one of the rooms in the house after the act. In December 2024, some assailants abducted and killed a member representing Onitsha North Constituency 1 in the state House of Assembly, Justice Azuka.
Security operatives discovered his decomposing body on the Second Niger Bridge in February 2025. The lawmaker who represented Aguata II Constituency in the state Assembly, Hon. Okechukwu Okoye, and his aide, Ulaevuchukwu Chiegboka, were similarly murdered and decapitated in May 2022. Elsewhere in Nigeria, killing of innocent citizens has become a pastime of some bandits and terrorists. In Benue, Plateau and many other states, tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions of others displaced.
We condemn these wanton killings and particularly call on the Anambra State Government to set up a probe panel to thoroughly investigate the recent killings. The outcome of the investigation should be made public. The police should apprehend the perpetrators of the dastardly act and bring them to justice. The general insecurity in Anambra and the entire South-East states is worrisome. It must be quickly checked before it escalates.
We reiterate the call for state police. With state police, the avoidable killings may be curbed. Let the government also check the proliferation of illegal arms and ammunition in Nigeria. It is fuelling violent crimes in the country. The South-East governors should rally together to find solution to the spate of insecurity in the region. We acknowledge that each state has an internal security arrangement, but there is need for a collective action.
Anambra has Agunechemba security outfit. It has been doing a good job. But it needs to do more to arrest the unfortunate killings in the state. All citizens, especially community leaders, owe it as a duty to volunteer information on the movement and hideout of the criminal elements in the society. We condole with the families of the victims and pray for quick recovery of the injured.
Credit: The Sun