Victor Ezeja
Gunmen attacked a Police Divisional Headquarters in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State on Tuesday, killing an officer and also burning down a Civic Centre in the town.
The gunmen reportedly invaded the police station in the early hours of Tuesday, 3rd September and threw explosives at the police facility.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis is the third time of such an attack since August. Police stations at Nnewi and Nnobi were attacked and some policemen also lost their lives last month.
Some videos shared on social media showed parts of the police facility and vehicles in the premises raised by fire.
A voice in one of the videos said the hoodlums first invaded the Oba Civic Centre around 2 am and shot sporadically, shattering windows and setting the building ablaze. According to the person, they thereafter proceeded to the police station in an attack that lasted for three hours.
The Anambra State Police Command confirmed the attack on Tuesday, including the death of a police corporal.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga said: “The suspected armed secessionist group started shooting sporadically in an attempt to gain entrance to the police station and threw petrol bombs at the security facility which made some of the offices catch fire, including the Oba Civic Center.
“Unfortunately, a police corporal who was fatally wounded paid the supreme price, while the fire was put off with the help of other police officers on duty and the joint security responding team.”
READ ALSO: Unknown Gunmen Kill 2 Police Officers In Ichi, Anambra State
The Anambra police command spokesperson disclosed that a police-led joint security forces comprising the Army, Navy, Civil defence and other security agencies, has launched an onslaught operation to apprehend the hoodlums.
Ikenga said the state Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, described the attack an invasion on the soul of a nation and vowed to bring those behind the criminal act to book.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
