Gunmen strike again in Anambra, kill five, burn vigilance office

• Panic in Onitsha as truckload of live bullets falls

Five persons on Sunday night were killed by unidentified gunmen who attacked Ozubulu community in the Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The office of the local Vigilance outfit in the area and a vehicle were also set by the gunmen.

This occurred some hours after the fall of a truck loaded with live bullets in the commercial city of Onitsha also in Anambra, still causing panic among residents of the area.

A businessman from Ozubulu was one of those killed, while the identity of the other casualties could not be immediately ascertained.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Ikenga Tochukwu, who confirmed the incident, said, “Yes, there was an attack in Ozubulu, but not the police station. Rather, it was the vigilante office in the area.

“They came in Sienna vehicles and motorcycles and attacked the office. Security operatives have been deployed to the area and normalcy has been restored. ” but an eyewitness said that he saw five bodies at the scene of the incident after the attack.

The Onitsha incident involved a Mercedes Benz 911 truck, which fell along Awka road in the city in the early hours of Sunday.

It was said to carry cartons of bullets, which got spilled into the drains after the truck skidded off the road and fell.

The contents was said to have made early morning worshippers to raise the alarm, which attracted the presence of security men who cordoned off the arena

It was gathered the truck was moving the goods out of Onitsha to an unidentified location when the driver lost control and skidded off the road, making it fall into a ditch.

Another source said the truck fell around 5am when the driver and his conductor, after sustaining minor injuries, tried to evacuate and conceal the contents.

The source said, “But they could not do much before daybreak when some police operatives arrived at the accident scene only to discover the truck was loaded with live bullets.”

Tochukwu also confirmed that there was a lone accident in the area but added that he had not been briefed about the content of the truck.