There was tension on Thursday in Ajalli, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State when armed men attacked a police station in the area leaving two officers dead.
The building was also set ablaze and some persons who are most likely suspects in police custody were feared trapped in the building.
While the police have confirmed the incident, they have, however, made no mention of any deaths, despite viral videos on social media that showed otherwise.
“The CP noted that today, 30th September 2021, some yet to be identified heavily armed men stormed the Ajali Divisional Headquarters of the State and fired sporadically at police personnel on duty,” the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, said in a statement on Thursday evening.
“They were, however, promptly engaged by the police officers before they fled the scene. Unfortunately, two (2) police personnel and a civilian sustained gunshot injuries while a patrol vehicle went in flames and the Police Station was partly torched.”
According to the statement, a joint team of Police and Military personnel immediately trailed the fleeing attackers and intercepted them along OKo Ajali road before the attackers escaped with gunshot injuries. “The operatives recovered a highlander jeep and two motorcycles”.
Another incident also occurred along the Nnobi-Nnewi road of the state where some hoodlums reportedly shot a vehicle driver and abducted other occupants of the vehicle.
“Investigations into the incidents are ongoing while efforts are being intensified to identify and rescue the occupants of the vehicle,” DSP Tochukwu said.
While condemning the unfortunate incidents, the CP called on citizens in the state to be calm, patriotic and go about their lawful businesses as the police, the military and other security agencies are already rejigging strategies to contain the situation and prevent any further threats to lives and property in the State.
He vowed that the perpetrators of these dastardly acts will not go unpunished.
The attack comes just hours after the murder of Dr. Chike Akunyili, the husband of the late former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dora Akunyili, and others in the state.
Dr. Chike Akunyili was killed by the gunmen on Tuesday alongside his driver and a police escort around the Nkpor junction in Idemili North, Anambra State.
He was said to have been returning from an event where he received a posthumous award of excellence for his late wife when he ran into the hoodlums at Nkpor and was murdered in cold blood.
Meanwhile, Governor Willie Obiano has placed a ₦20 million bounty on the perpetrators of the gruesome killing.
The Governor said that the sum will be awarded to anyone who is able to provide useful information to track the killers.
