Gunmen attack church in Anambra, kill pastor's wife, raze house, vehicles

The wife of an Anglican Church pastor was killed on Sunday morning when gunmen attacked Saint Andrew’s Church in Isiokwe in Anambra State, south-east Nigeria.

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Isiokwe is a community in Lilu Town, which is under Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.

Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that the attack happened in the early hours of Sunday.

One of the residents said the gunmen appeared to have targeted the pastor, identified as Venerable Obiese.

“He escaped, but the gunmen shot his wife dead and burnt down his house and vehicles,” the resident, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper Monday morning.

“They also burnt church vehicles and other properties,” he added.

PREMIUM TIMES obtained video clips recorded shortly after the deadly attack.

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The clips showed the pastor’s house completely burnt down. At least, two cars and a motorcycle were completely burnt.

The church was partially burnt, the clips showed.

For years, Lilu and other communities in Ihiala LGA have been attacked by gunmen terrorising residents of the area.

Many residents had fled the community in the heat of the attacks by hoodlums who took over the community in 2021.

Obiora Agbasilo, the Labour Party candidate in the 2021 Governorship Election in Anambra State was abducted in Lilu in September of that year. He has yet to be seen since his abduction amidst reports he has been killed.

The local government area shares boundaries with communities in Imo, another south-eastern state heavily impacted by insecurity in the region.

Police speak on attack

The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, has confirmed the latest church attack in Lilu and the killing of the pastor’s wife.

In a statement on Monday, Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said other people were injured in the attack.

The spokesperson said the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Ikioye Orutugu, has condemned the deadly attack.

“This heinous and abominable act, committed against innocent worshippers, is not only an assault on the community but a grave affront to our shared values of peace, sanctity of life, and freedom of worship,” Mr Orutugu was quoted as saying.

The commissioner sympathised with families of the victims as well as the community and assured that the police in the state would track down the attackers.

“In view of the above, the (Anambra State Police) Command has already intensified intelligence-driven operations, deployed the joint security team, and strengthened surveillance across the area,” he said.

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The police chief urged residents of the area to remain calm and cooperate with the joint security team by providing “useful information” that can assist in hunting down the hoodlums.

Increased attacks

Like in other states in the South-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State, but the latest attack on a church is a novelty in the region.

Previous attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.

Hundreds of persons have been killed or abducted and several others injured in some of such attacks in the region.

The Nigerian government has repeatedly accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region.

But the separatist group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of the south-south Nigeria.

Its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was recently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism at the Federal High Court in Abuja.