Gunmen have attacked Staff of the US Embassy in their convoy, in Ogbaru local government area of Anambra state, on Tuesday afternoon, killing four people and abducting at least three others. The attack which left two US Embassy staff and two security personnel attached to the convoy dead, is only one of the many attacks across the Southeast by gangs of armed bandits. The attackers also set the US Consulate vehicle as well as the bodies of the deceased ablaze, and in a show of force abducted two security personnel and driver of the second US Consulate’s vehicle.
A statement by the spokesman of Anambra State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, noted that the attack took place around 3pm on Tuesday, along Atani-Osamale road in Ogbaru local government. “The Joint Security Force have embarked on a rescue/recovery operation in Ogbaru LGA, following an attack on a convoy of staff of the US Consulate today, 16/05/2023, by 3;30pm along Atani, Osamale road,” Ikenga said. The statement released by DSP Ikenga also noted that the attack left four people in the convoy dead. Of the four, two were US Consulate staffers, while two were Police Mobile Force Operatives. He further confirmed that the bodies of all four were set ablaze, including their vehicle. However, he said no US citizen was involved in the attack.
The Police Command also wondered by the convoy could not notify the police in the area of their entry. “The police while reacting to the situation, regrets that a convoy of such or any related, will enter the state without recourse to the police in the area,” a part of the statement reads. The police however assured of efforts towards restoring order in the state in the ongoing “battle against insurgents”.
Ogbaru local government is one of the few local governments in Anambra state, with a strong presence of insurgents. Suspected oil bunkering in the area, extreme cases of drug abuse and violence, as well as the high population density of the area, has left it even more volatile, as one of the most affected by the ongoing armed banditry in parts of the Southeast.
He is a Technical Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano’s Special Adviser on Legislative Matters, whoonce was a Special Adviser to a former Deputy Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly. Ebuka is a second class upper division graduate of Political Science from University of Calabar, Calabar Nigeria and holds a Masters Degree in Political Science with specialization in Government and Development Studies, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Nigeria
