Gunmen Blow up Hotel Building, Kill Two Policemen in Anambra on Independence Day

Residents of Abor Akuzor, Umusoime, Nkpor in Anambra State apparently did not have a peaceful Independence Day celebration as some gunmen on Monday shot and killed two policemen onpatrol in the neighborhood. Some other policemen were also injured during the incident.

The gunmen were also said to
have led some people to destroy part of a hotel building under construction in the area. The building, which allegedly belongs to the Chairman of Abor Akuzor kindred, Chief Okechukwu Nwafoagu, was a mega hotel and it was believed that the hoodlums used explosives suspected to be dynamite to destroy the structure.

While the motives these attacks remain unclear, they have come on the heels of a similar killing of a woman, Ogechi Okechukwu, on Sunday by gunmen, who attacked the village. Meanwhile, the Abor Akuzor people have been embroiled in a land dispute with their neighbouring Oramadike people in Ogidi. The dispute, which sometimes turned violent, has led to loss oflives and destruction of property, and the Monday attack on Abor Akuzor was the third since May this year. The hotel, which is at the roofing stage, was attacked and property including generators, were set ablaze.

However, the Police Monitoring Unit, Force Headquarters, had, because of the killings and destruction, summoned the Chairman of Abor Akuzor and his Oramadike counterpart to Abuja, where they were made to sign an undertaking to maintain the peace and order.

But the hotelier, whose hotel and property were destroyed, blamed the police for not acting early on the information his people had given them.

According to him, “In all the attacks, I have always called the security agencies in and outside the state and sent text messages to all their heads. I have been saying it that the activities of these hoodlums should be checked to avoid loss of lives… My people have provided necessary information on where to arrest them, their source of arms, yet these information have not been acted upon.”