Gunmen attack Anambra community, kill three, injure five

• The armed assailants, who pretended to be land buyers, were said to have lured their victims to the land, where they carried out the attack.

At least three people have been killed by gunmen in an attack on Isionye community in Anambra State.

The community is located on the boundary between Enugu Ukwu and Nawfia in Njikoka Local Government Area of the State.

Five people were also injured during the attack which took place late on Monday.

The armed assailants, who pretended to be land buyers, were said to have lured their victims to the land, where they carried out the attack.

Sources said the attackers fired multiple gunshots, plunging the community into a state of apprehension and uncertainty.

One of the sources said, “Unknown gunmen stormed our community in Enugu Ukwu, Njikoka Local Government, this evening and killed several people. They arrived in a Sienna vehicle, pretending to be land buyers.

“No one suspected they were heavily armed with guns and machetes until they reached the land and started shooting. In the process, both the people who took them to the land were shot, while passers-by and other residents, who fled at the sound of the gunfire, sustained various injuries.”

The Anambra State Police spokesman, Superintendent of Police Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident on Tuesday.

He said the police had recovered the vehicle left behind by the armed attackers, and that investigations had begun to identify the perpetrators.

Ikenga said, “The Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Itam, has ordered an investigation into the murder of three people and the serious injury of five others on Monday, 9 September 2024, at 2 p.m. at Isionye land, a boundary between Enugu Ukwu and Nawfia.

“Preliminary information revealed that the victims were lured to the land by individuals through a phone call under the guise of a land transaction, and were then attacked with guns and machetes.

“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police has called for calm, as police operatives have recovered the abandoned Sienna vehicle used by the murderers.

“The testimonies of the injured victims, who are currently receiving treatment in hospital, are aiding the investigation, while the bodies of the deceased have been deposited in the morgue.

“Further developments will be communicated in due course.”