The Association of Non-Indigenes in Anambra State (ANIAS) is demanding a full-scale investigation into the gruesome killing of 13 Ebonyi indigenes during a community meeting at Ogboji, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The tragic incident occurred around 7:00 p.m. on Monday during the monthly assembly of Ebonyi residents. According to eyewitness accounts, armed assailants stormed the venue in a Sienna vehicle, accused attendees of plotting against them, and opened fire after forcefully collecting the meeting’s minutes book. Thirteen persons were brutally murdered on the spot, while the meeting’s chairman and treasurer narrowly escaped with gunshot wounds.
Prince Chigozie Nweke, President of ANIAS, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the massacre and called on Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, to immediately launch a thorough investigation into both the remote and immediate causes of the attack. He also urged law enforcement authorities to swiftly apprehend the perpetrators and ensure justice is served.
“We mourn with the Ebonyi community and the bereaved families. We urge Governor Soludo to use his good office to bring the killers to justice. This barbaric act threatens the peace and stability Anambra has worked hard to maintain under his leadership,” Nweke said.
Read also:
- Army declare 3 days of mourning in honour of 17 soldiers killed in Niger
- NDU student killed as cult violence escalates in Bayelsa
- 5 persons killed in military-grade explosion in Kano
He further called on the State Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, to deploy the full weight of the command’s resources to uncover those behind the heinous crime. Nweke emphasized the Association’s longstanding collaboration with the President Generals of the state’s 179 communities in fighting insecurity, pledging that ANIAS will continue to promote peace and uphold the law.
Survivors of the attack, including the meeting chairman and treasurer, who are currently receiving treatment at a medical facility, recounted the horrific scene in an audio testimony.
“We were about to end our meeting when gunmen arrived and accused us of holding a meeting against them. They demanded our minutes book and asked our chairman to stand up. Then they ordered the rest of us to lie down and began shooting,” said Mr. Augustine Odom, who sustained gunshot injuries.
“We don’t know who they were. Thirteen of our members were killed. Most of them were from Izzi, Ikwo, and Mgbo communities,” he added.
The shocking massacre has triggered widespread outrage and fear among non-indigene communities in Anambra. As calls for justice grow louder, all eyes are now on the Soludo-led administration and security agencies to act swiftly and decisively.
