From Emmanuel Uzor, Awka
Late strike by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers has left Oba community, Idemili North council area of Anambra state in tears and sorrows as no fewer than seven persons were reportedly killed and one security man beheaded.
Daily Sun gathered that the incident happened at Porsche Nightclub, where many fun seekers met their untimely death when the gunmen struck to kidnap the owner .
Though there are no further details of who carried out the attacks on Sunday night, a source, Chukwuemeka Ezefunamba, said the gunmen came to kidnap the owner of the club, but were resisted by security men attached to the club.
“As a result of the resistance, the gunmen started shooting sporadically, killing many people in the process. They also beheaded one of the security men who resisted them from taking the owner of the night club.”
However, the Anambra State Police command confirmed the killing of operatives of local vigilante in the Oba attack.
Anambra State Police Publlic Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the story in a telephone interview, saying that the command had swung into action with the intention of bringing the perpetrators to justice.
He said: “Yes, the incident happened. Our men were alerted and they quickly moved to the scene of the incident, but the gunmen had already fled. Our men have recovered the bodies of the vigilante operatives, who were fatally wounded, while others sustained various degrees of injury.
“We have also fully deployed our men to Oba, and operation is ongoing. So far, no arrest has been made,”
Oba, a growing suburban town in Anambra is close to Onitsha, and has a high number of hospitality facilities, with a burgeoning night life.
The incident is coming barely few months after another nightclub owner and popular native doctor, Akwa Okuko Tiwaraki, was attacked and kidnapped in the same commando-like manner in the same community.
He later disclosed that he surrendered himself to avoid collateral damage that would have happened if he resisted the kidnap . It was ,however, rumoured that he paid over N400million to regain freedom.