Jonathan Nwokpor
The capital of Anambra State, Awka, is once more under siege by gunmen who are thought to be cultists.
Over 15 residents have reportedly been killed in cold blood in the last two weeks; some of them were victims of cult members; this has led to speculation that the killings may be targeted assassinations.
According to ZINGTIE, which has been monitoring the situation, the main issue is a struggle for control over revenue windows, including collecting taxes from commercial tricyclists and bus drivers.
According to an investigation, the city has seen at least 15 gun-related deaths in only two weeks.
Up to six youths were allegedly shot and killed on Easter Sunday, which marked the beginning of the spree of killings.
According to a source who spoke with ZINGTIE, while Christians celebrated Easter as a time to remember Christ’s resurrection, some people’s joy was cut short by gunmen.
“Some were felled at Okpuno area, behind Juhel, others were murdered around Eke Awka area and Obinagu,” a source said.
In Awka, the state capital, one of the instances is reported to have taken place in front of Dike Park, near the Eke Awka Market.
According to sources, “The incident happened in the noon of Sunday, and also escalated to the Obinagu area, where the cultists also gunned down some more persons.”
Information surfaced that one of the victims of the shooting was a member of the Anambra State Judiciary staff, known only as Mr Nwofor. Before the cultists attacked, he was allegedly going about his regular work as usual.
A resident of Awka, who did not want his name mentioned, said: “I suspected that there would be cult killings during that period. You know that most wanted cultists have left town, but during festive periods, they always come home to celebrate, and their rivals use the opportunity to pay them back for their past atrocities, which may include that they have killed their members.”
Three more people, who were similarly thought to be members of secret cults, were shot and killed in the city just seven days after the Easter killings.
Two of the victims were reportedly executed in front of her, even though security personnel were unable to verify the exact number.
The source said: “Two tricycles were driving recklessly along Zik Avenue at Eke Awka. They were pursuing themselves. Around Eke Awka market, the tricycle at the front got stuck in the traffic, and one boy inside it alighted and started running.
“Two boys in the tricycle behind also jumped down and pursued him. He ran towards Parkers’ area, along Zik Avenue, and diverted into a road by the right, into a mechanic workshop.
“The boys pursued him into the place, dragged him out and shot him to death. The incident caused pandemonium, and people were just running in all directions,” the source said.
Not satisfied, two days after the same occurrence, a popular Awka teenager named Nwanayoeze was shot and killed in the area of Unizik Junction’s tricycle park.
Even though they denied any connection to cultism, traders around Unizik Junction acknowledged that Nwanayoeze was a well-known young guy in the region who also controlled income from tricycle operators. Many people also dreaded him.
But the murders continued unabated. Chief Cajetan Nwokike, a former president general of the Amansea community in the Awka North Local Government Area, passed away on Thursday of that same week.
Additionally, on Friday, a man known as Christian was shot and killed at Unizik Junction. He reportedly hails from Enugu State, but he runs a well-known transportation business in Awka with fleets of opulent SUVs that take people to and from Abuja and Lagos.
He was shot and killed by gunmen on a yellow bike in front of his coworkers. Witnesses reported that the attackers got into the tricycle and drove off slowly, giving the impression that they were not in a rush to depart after the job.
Earlier on Wednesday night, there was chaos at Aroma Crossroads due to gunmen.
A young person from Amudo Village in Awka, who was reportedly a tricycle operator before switching to a revenue collector, was shot and killed.
According to a source, the attackers followed him from the state capital’s Ifite neighbourhood and shot him at close range at a petrol station that doubles as a well-liked bus and tricycle stop.
Roadside vendors abandoned their wares and ran away, forcing local businesses to close.
Just as several individuals abandoned their cars and fled the scene, the main routes around the incident were suddenly deserted.
A few hours later, word spread throughout the village that there had been another murder at the same intersection. This time, the victim was an Anambra Road Traffic Management Agency (ARTMA) employee.
A source said: “The man who was killed is an ARTMA official. He stopped some people who were driving a Toyota Sienna vehicle with tinted glasses, and the people shot him and drove off. It happened just close to me as I was boarding a vehicle this morning to go to Nnewi.”
Residents in the state capital and elsewhere are more tense due to the developments since they don’t know who might be the next target.
One alarmed neighbour told ZINGTIE, “Security agencies seem overwhelmed; everyone is in panic mode.”
SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, lamented in a statement to ZINGTIE that the deceased’s family often fail to inform the authorities so that an inquiry can begin.
Although operatives were sent to the scene of the incidents, he stated that no information about any deaths had been received.
However, ZINGTIE discovered that to prevent police confiscation, family members typically remove deceased people’s bodies as soon as possible.
In the meantime, the police expressed their dissatisfaction at a recent press conference, claiming that the majority of cult kingpins they had arrested were being let loose by influential individuals in the community.
In the presence of DCP Akin Fakorede, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, the commissioner of police for Anambra State, CP Aderemi Adeoye, stated: “When those things that have happened over a period of time begin to happen again, the question people should ask is Why?
“Could you imagine that the cultists we arrested, charged to court, and got remanded in prison custody that some powerful locals are going to the judiciary to lobby to get them released?
“And some have been released. And they are the ones unleashing this mayhem again! That is number one.
“Two, you must have heard of the AK-47 we recently recovered from a suspect in Awada. What the suspect told us was that they procured it for him to engage in a showdown with a rival cult group.
“Now, if that AK-47 was not recovered or had joined the recent cult-related clash, could you imagine what the casualty level would have been?
“We are already going after the cultists; and if we find that anybody is subverting justice, or is subverting due process, to get the cultists off the hook, they will face the music, notwithstanding whether the person is in the judiciary or civil populace,” he said.
Major Awka stakeholders who are concerned about the bloodletting orgy have currently begun to work towards a long-term solution to the issue.
Three prominent sons of Awka—Hon. Henry Mbachu, the representative for Awka South 1 constituency; Mr Ossy Onuko, the managing director of the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA); and Mr Anagor ThankGod, the chairman of the Awka South Local Government Area’s transition committee—have banded together to urge security services to put an end to the killings.
Addressing newsmen on behalf of the three after a meeting, Onuko said “Finding a lasting solution to the security challenges is necessary as the elected and appointed officers owe it as a duty to the people to keep Awka safe not just for residents but for thousands of investors trooping into the city.”
On Friday night, ZINGTIE observed, however, that members from the Special Anti-Cultism Squad (SPACS) had set up a guard near Aroma Junction due to the ongoing killings.
In the meantime, popular Awka activist Comrade Osita Obi told ZINGTIE that it was unjust that Governor Soludo had not yet spoken on the killings.
He said: “Soludo is doing very well in infrastructure, but protection of lives and property is the major reason we elect leaders. He needs to say something.”
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