Paul Okojie
Suspected Unknown Gunmen attacked a US convoy in South-Eastern Nigeria, on Tuesday killing four people, as reported by local police.
They stated two of the victims of Tuesday’s attack in Anambra state were US consulate employees, while the other two were police officers. The attackers kidnapped three other people, and set their vehicle on fire.
The US Government has stated that no US citizens were in the convoy, which was travelling in through the state plagued by violence and a separatist insurgency. The Nigerian police said the attack happened on the Atani-Osamale road in Ogbaru region.
The PPRO of the Anambra Police State Command, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu said that security forces were currently carrying out a rescue and recovery operation in the state.
In a statement also released by the US State department confirmed that “there was an incident on 16 May in Anambra state”, adding that Washington was working with Nigerian security services to investigate the attack.
“The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organising trips to the field,” the US state department said. The group has so far made no public comments on the issue.
The Nigerian Government has often blamed violent attacks in the south-eastern region on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, which is agitating for a breakaway state in the country. Anambra and other parts of the region have seen a sharp rise in attacks on security forces since IPOB launched an armed wing called Eastern Security Network (ESN) in December 2020.
