Gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, have killed a man and abducted one other in separate attacks in two communities in Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.
The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed attacks in separate statements forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday.
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How the attacks happened
Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, in the earlier statement said some armed persons abducted a yet-to-be-identified man on Friday morning in Awka, the state capital.
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The police spokesperson also forwarded a video clip showing three armed persons abducting the victim while firing gunshots.
“The three armed men operating in a stainless coloured Highlander (SUV) without a number plate shot indiscriminately and abducted the victim,” he said.
He said that the Anambra State Police Command has assured that its operatives will ensure that the victim was rescued alive.
Killing
Mr Ikenga, in the second statement, said police operatives, on Monday, recovered the body of another man who was earlier abducted by gunmen on 19 June in the state.
The spokesperson said the slain victim, Augustine Chido, was abducted at his piggery farm in Nimo, a community in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.
“(Police) operatives were still actively involved to rescue the victim but unfortunately, his lifeless body was discovered on 23rd June 2025, near his farm in Nimo,” he said.
It is unclear if the two separate attacks were carried out by the same gunmen. Nimo and Awka are about 18.4 kilometres apart.
Mr Ikenga said the body of the slain victim has been deposited at the morgue.
The spokesperson said police authorities in the state have sympathised with the family of the deceased and the community.
He said the state police command has assured that it shall leave no stone unturned in tracking down the attackers.
Abduction for ransom
Like other states in the South-east, cases of abduction-for-ransom in Anambra State have increased in recent times.
Civil servants, business owners, politicians and even students have become targets of such attacks in the state lately.
The latest attack occurred nearly two weeks after the Director of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Anambra State, Daniel Onyishi, was abducted.
Mr Onyishi was released after 10 days in captivity.
