Gunmen have abducted eight people during a traditional ceremony in Anambra State, Nigeria’s south-east.
The incident happened on Wednesday evening in Amakor village, Nanka, a community in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, Vanguard newspaper reported.
This occurred two days before the attack on the Anambra Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Patrick Agha Mba, his wife and aide, on Friday.
How it happened
Residents said that in the Wednesday incident, some community members were taking Ozo titles when gunmen invaded the community and disrupted the ceremony.
Ozo title-taking is an Igbo cultural ceremony where men are bestowed with Ozo titles and recognised as custodians of traditions.
An Ozo title holder, Emmanuel Ilo, who witnessed the incident, said his escape was by divine intervention.
Mr Ilo said some police operatives guarding the venue attempted to resist the attackers but were overpowered.
“While the event was reaching its climax, some armed men, some of whom covered their faces, stormed the venue. They were accompanied by some community members and immediately began the attack.
“Without any explanation or engagement with the organisers of the event, the men began to scatter things at the venue. They intimidated and brutalised many of the participants and organisers, kicking some of them, while the armed men stood by, including some dressed in police uniforms,” he said.
He said after the assault, eight people, including the Amakor village Chairperson, Obinna Ilo, Emerie Ilo, Sam Eminike, and Asina Okafor, were forced into waiting Sienna vehicles and driven to an unknown location.
Apart from the abducted victims, the hoodlums also injured 12 others during the attack, he said.
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The witness added that some other participants who managed to escape have been in hiding since then.
He said the whereabouts of the abducted individuals have remained unclear given that their families had not been contacted by the abductors.
Police speak
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday, the police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, said he did not receive any report on the attack.
“There is no such report before me,” said Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, in response to enquiries from a PREMIUM TIMES reporter.
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