Gunmen Kill Soldiers, Policemen in Anambra

Bandits kill inspector, abduct three in Kaduna suburb

John Shiklam in Kaduna and David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Unknown gunmen have reportedly killed unspecified number of policemen and soldiers in different locations in Anambra State.

This is coming as bandits on Wednesday invaded Ungwa Waziri, Karji, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis, killing a police inspector and abducting three residents of the area.

The incidents in Anambra State occurred yesterday, sources said.

While the policemen were said to have been killed in Neni, Anaocha Local Government Area at a checkpoint, the soldiers were killed at an outpost in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area, both of Anambra State.

Sources who spoke to THISDAY said the gunmen also set ablaze a police van in Neni, and carted away arms belonging to the late policemen, while in Awkuzu, the felled soldiers also lost their weapons to the attackers.

Other circumstances surrounding the attack, including the identity of the attackers were yet to be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

The spokesperson for Anambra State Police Command, DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, who spoke with THISDAY, said the command had received the report and was working to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incidents.

“We are still working and trailing the news; I hope to get back to you soon, when the details are complete,” he said.

In a related development, bandits on Wednesday invaded Ungwa Waziri, Karji, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis, killing a police inspector and abducting three residents of the area.

The attack was said to have occurred at about 10:30pm in the area where many off -campus students of the Kaduna State University (KASU) and the Kaduna Polytechnic are residents.

Two of those abducted are said to be female students of the KASU.

A resident in the community said the hoodlums stormed the community at about 10:30pm in large numbers and were shooting sporadically.

He said, “they have been disturbing us for a long time and some people have even relocated to other places”, he said.

He said when the hoodlums came to the community, “We immediately turned off our generators and went into hiding. The bandits were shooting sporadically.

“They went to a house, as they were forcing the house opened, a policeman, Inspector John Bello, a neighbour to the house that was being forced opened, sneaked out of his house.

“He was riding his motorcycle, but some of the bandits who were hiding under a mango tree, shot him and he died on the spot.”

He said the bandits later moved to a compound housing some students of the KASU and made away with two females and one male.

The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mohammad Jalige, did not respond to telephone calls when contacted.