Anambra killings: ‘We thought they were Police,’ Survivor recounts ordeal

A survivor of a suspected gunmen attack that led to the killing of 13 people and others injured in Anambra State has recounted the terrifying moment the attackers stormed a meeting of the Ebonyi State Welfare Association in Ogboji, saying they initially mistook the gunmen for police officers before gunfire erupted.

Recounting his ordeal, Onuoha Godwin, a native of Inyimagu in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, who is currently receiving treatment for multiple gunshot wounds, said the attack happened on a day the group was holding its general meeting.

He said, “We used to have our meeting two times in a month. That day was our general meeting of Ebonyi State Welfare Association in Ogboji.”

He explained that the gunmen arrived in the evening, just as the meeting was wrapping up.

“Towards evening time, when we were about closing the meeting, some people carrying guns came in. We thought they were policemen that came for mass arrests. We didn’t know they were on a mission to kill us,” he added.

ALSO READ: Police arrest 50 cultists, recover 36 vehicles, firearms

Continuing, Godwin said the attackers demanded to know the identity of one Augustine Odogwu, the Chairman of the Ogboji branch of the association.

“The first thing they asked was, ‘Who is Augustine Odogwu?’ Then they ordered everybody to lie down,” he recounted.

According to him, the assailants pulled him up and interrogated him about the purpose of the gathering.

“They dragged me up and asked me what meeting we were doing. I told them it was the general meeting of Ebonyi indigenes. They said we were kicking against them and then they shot me,” he said.

He added that the gunmen threatened to kill him if he did not point out Augustine.

“I pointed at him. They brought him out and shot him right there. Then they shot me again.”

The attackers reportedly began shooting indiscriminately at other members present, killing eleven people on the spot. However, the death toll has since risen to thirteen as some of the injured succumbed in the hospital.

Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State Government, its Anambra state counterpart, and several civil society groups have condemned the killings and are demanding a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE