…Kidnap Lawyer, Two Others in Nkpologwu
By Ikeugonna Eleke
Gunmen operating in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Friday, August 9, attacked a police van, killing one of the policemen at a junction.
Sources said the incident happened at about 9am and that the attackers when repelled by the policemen threw an improvised explosive device at the police team, and that one of them was ripped by the device.
The Police Command in the state later confirmed this in a press release by the State Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga.
Ikenga said the Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, had ordered a manhunt for the gunmen.
He confirmed that the men were attacked at a checkpoint at Omata Junction, in Uruagu Community, along the Nnewi Oba Road.
He said: ‘The manhunt operation led by the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Nnewi Area Command is already working with the locals in the area to unmask and apprehend the attackers.’
In a similar development, gunmen operating in Nkpologwu in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, kidnapped three persons, including a lawyer, in the early hours of Sunday, August 10.
An eyewitness speaking in a trending video on social media, said the gunmen stormed the community between 7:30 am and 8:00 am to carry out the operation.
The video showed a somersaulted vehicle along the Nkpologwu-Akpo Road which was believed to belong to one of the victims.
Prof. Ferdinand Ezeiruaku, President General of Nkpologwu Community, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview.
He stated that the three men were kidnapped at different locations in the community by heavily-armed men.
Two of the victims, including the lawyer, are based in Abuja, while the third victim is based in Port Harcourt.
They had returned to the community to attend an event organized by the local women’s group at their August Meeting.
Ezeiruaku expressed concern for the victims’ safety and urged the public to pray for their safe release.
Efforts to reach the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ikenga Tochukwu, for comment, were unsuccessful.
