The police in Anambra state in Southeast Nigeria briefs media on the attack on a US convoy in the region, that killed seven people.“Three of the consulate officials and four police mobile personnel were killed during that attack while two other officials of the consulate are still missing,” says Anambra state Police Commissioner Echeng Echeng. He added that “two persons of interest were arrested and are already assisting the police in the investigation.”
-The story so far-
Suspected separatists carried out the ambush on a US consulate convoy in southern Nigeria earlier this week that killed three local staff and four security escorts, police said on Thursday.
Gunmen opened fire on the two vehicles on Tuesday in southeastern Anambra State, in a region where the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) separatist group agitates for the ethnic Igbo people.
Attacks on diplomats are rare in Nigeria, where President-elect Bola Tinubu takes office on May 29 with armed forces battling security threats ranging from jihadists to criminal gangs and separatists in different parts of the country.
Anambra State police commissioner Echeng Echeng told reporters on Thursday IPOB or their armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, were suspected to be behind the attack on the convoy.
“They suddenly came under attack by armed men who targeted them with gunfire and set their vehicles ablaze, Regrettably seven persons including three of the consulate officials and four police mobile personnel were killed during that attack” he said.
He said two local US consulate staff were still missing after the ambush.
Two suspects linked to the attack have been arrested, he added.
The consulate team were travelling to visit a USAID-funded project providing humanitarian aid for people displaced by flooding in Anambra last year.
Police and naval forces engaged in a gun battle with the attackers who escaped into forests. Security forces raided a camp of suspected separatists on Wednesday, but found it abandoned.
IPOB has been repeatedly accused of targeting police patrols and killing security officers in southeast Nigeria. It persistently denies being behind any violence.
Anambra State government on Wednesday condemned what it called a “heinous and unprovoked” attack on the convoy, but also suggested the US team did not properly inform local officials of their movements.
It said the state’s crackdown on criminal gangs had created tensions that could provoke revenge attacks on police in areas like where the convoy was hit.
Separatism is highly sensitive in Nigeria, where more than one million people were killed in a three-year civil war following the declaration of an independent Biafra Republic in the southeast by Igbo army officers in 1967.
Separatists still operate in the country’s southeast, where they have escalated their attacks in recent years, usually targeting police or government buildings.
Buhari reacts to killing
In a statement on Wednesday, Garba Shehu, the president’s spokesperson, said Buhari is saddened by the killings of the police officers and the staff of the US embassy in Nigeria.
n a statement on Wednesday, Garba Shehu, the president’s spokesperson, said Buhari is saddened by the killings of the police officers and the staff of the US embassy in Nigeria.
He is equally been briefed about the tragic killing of several persons in the Bwoi District of Mangu Local government area of Plateau state, as well that of several villagers in Adaka village in Makurdi local government and in Ijaha community of Apa local government area of Benue state.
“We share the grief of the American embassy, the Nigeria Police force and our communities in Plateau and Benue and remain committed to fishing out the perpetrators of the attacks and bringing them to justice. May God give their families the strength to bear the unfortunate losses.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks
No US citizen was involved and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said there were no indications the attack specifically targeted the US embassy.
His statement reads: “Unknown assailants yesterday attacked a convoy of two U.S. government vehicles in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra state, Nigeria. The convoy was carrying nine Nigerian nationals: five employees of the U.S. Mission to Nigeria and four members of the Nigeria Police Force. They were traveling in advance of a planned visit by U.S. Mission personnel to a U.S.-funded flood response project in Anambra.
“We do not yet know the motive for the attack, but we have no indications at this time that it was targeted against our Mission. The assailants killed at least four members of the convoy, and U.S. Mission personnel are working urgently with Nigerian counterparts to ascertain the location and condition of the members of the convoy who are unaccounted for.
“We condemn in the strongest terms this attack. We will work closely with our Nigerian law enforcement colleagues in seeking to bring those responsible to justice.
“The United States has no greater priority than the safety and security of our personnel. We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the attack, and pledge to do everything possible to safely recover those who remain missing. We deeply value our relationship with our Locally Employed Staff and our partnership with Nigeria.
“The United States reaffirms its commitment to the people of Nigeria to assist in the fight against violence and insecurity,” the statement ended.
IGP condemns ‘callous attack’
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba condemned in its totality the callous attack
The IGP, while expressing astonishment at the attack, described it as a clear indication of the attackers’ and/or non-state actors’ callousness and an act of wickedness to humanity, most especially to their kinsmen who have been considered to enjoy aids and palliatives from the attacked diplomats.
He continued, “The act is indeed evil and inhuman”.
The IGP has ordered an immediate full-scale investigation into the attacks and has charged the investigative team to ensure the culprits and their sponsors are arrested and brought to book at the earliest possible time.
Similarly, the IGP warns all non-state actors to cease their nefarious actions as the Nigeria Police Force, in synergy with other security agencies, will not hesitate to clamp down on them and their sponsors to rid the nation of their unpatriotic and disruptive activities.
While commiserating with the US Consulate on the brazen murder and abduction of her local staff, and the families of the officers who paid the supreme price, he assured that all hands are on deck to ensure the rescue of those abducted.
The IGP while expressing the openness of the NPF to working with all foreign presence in the country to ensure the security of their assets and personnel, assures that the Nigeria Police is committed to the safety and security of all and sundry, including visitors and diplomats within the country.