No fewer than 13 people were killed by gunmen in the Ogboji community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State late on Monday.
According to reports, the gunmen stormed the area in two sport utility vehicles and unprovokedly attacked the people, who were holding their monthly general meeting, while also shooting indiscriminately into the air.
Although members of the community said 13 persons were killed during the attack, police sources, however, confirmed 10 were murdered.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, a resident of the area and the president of the Association of Non-Indigenes in Anambra State, Chigozie Nweke, said non-indigenes were mostly the victims of the attack.
Nweke said, “It was a tragic and horrifying Monday evening for members of the Ogboji community, particularly non-indigenes residing in the area, as gunmen stormed a meeting venue in the area and brutally murdered about 13 persons.
“The attack, which occurred between 6:00pm and 7:00pm, left the affected families in mourning. We bring to the attention of the Anambra State Government the killing of these persons, mostly indigenes of Ebonyi State at Ogboji in Orumba South Local Government Area by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.”
Nweke also urged Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, to activate the Command’s personnel to track down the perpetrators.
A survivor, Augustine Odom, the chairman of the Ebonyi community in Ogboji, described the attack as “sudden and unprovoked” while recounting his trauma.
Odom said, “The community was holding its regular monthly meeting when the assailants struck. We were having our monthly meeting of the Ebonyi community, which is held on the last Monday of every month, beginning at 4:00pm.
“This gathering was known to our Town Union President. It was a peaceful meeting aimed at discussing welfare issues affecting our members. Then, around 6:30pm, a group of gunmen arrived in a Sienna vehicle and accused us of holding a meeting against them.
“The attackers demanded the group’s minutes book and thereafter seized it and opened fire on the participants. They collected our minutes book, ordered everyone to lie down, and then asked the chairman to stand. Moments later, they started shooting at us. About 13 of our members were killed on the spot. The treasurer and I survived with gunshot wounds.”
Odom went on to say that the victims came from a variety of Ebonyi State areas, including Izzi, Ikwo, Mgbo, and other villages.
“We have no issues with anyone,” the two survivors, who are presently undergoing treatment at a nearby medical facility, said in disbelief, adding that they had no known conflicts with any person or group before the incident. We are law-abiding locals who came together merely to help one another.
Confirming the incident when contacted on Tuesday, the Spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said police operatives have cordoned off the area while investigations have begun to unmask the perpetrators behind the dastardly act.
Ikenga mentioned that the victims were rushed to the hospital, where about 10 were confirmed dead.
The police PRO added that their corpses have been deposited at the mortuary.
He said, “The Anambra State Police Command has condemned the indiscriminate shooting incident that resulted in fatal injuries and fatalities to ten persons on the evening of 30th June, 2025, at Ogboji, Orumba South Local Government Area. The police have further assured that the command shall hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
“The armed criminals came in two sport utility vehicles and attacked the gathering of a group unprovokedly, shooting sporadically.
“The victims were rushed to the hospital, and regrettably, 10 people were confirmed dead. The bodies have been deposited in the mortuary.
“Meanwhile, the police-led security team has taken over the scene and is working on the necessary information to arrest the perpetrators. Further development would be communicated, please.”
