Heavily armed assailants have launched a fresh attack on a police station in Oba, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, marking the third recent assault on law enforcement in the region. This follows earlier attacks in Nnewi and Nnobi in August, which resulted in the deaths of several police officers.
The latest attack occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, where a police corporal was fatally shot. The Anambra State Police confirmed the incident, revealing that the officer was killed when assailants, believed to be separatist militants, hurled a petrol bomb into the police station.
SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the State Command Public Relations Officer, explained that the assailants began shooting sporadically in an attempt to breach the police station’s defenses, using petrol bombs to set parts of the facility, including the Oba Civic Center, on fire. Despite the tragic loss of the police corporal, the fire was eventually extinguished with the help of other officers on duty and a joint security response team.
In response to the attack, a coordinated operation was launched this morning by joint security forces, including the Army, Navy, Civil Defence, and other security agencies, targeting Oba and its surrounding areas. Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, condemned the attack, describing it as an invasion of security installations and an affront to the nation’s security personnel. He vowed to ensure that those responsible for the heinous act are brought to justice.
