Maduako Igbokwe I Tuesday, July 01,2025
ANAMBRA, Nigeria – It was a tragic and horrifying Monday evening for members of the Ebonyi community residing in Anambra State, as gunmen stormed a meeting venue in Ogboji, Orumba South Local Government Area, and brutally murdered 13 individuals.
The attack occurred between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. at Ogboji community, leaving the affected families and the larger Ebonyi diaspora in mourning.
In response, the Association of Non-Indigenes in Anambra State (ANIAS) has called for a thorough investigation into the massacre.
In a press release signed by the President of ANIAS, Prince Chigozie Nweke, the association condemned the heinous act and urged the Anambra State Government to take swift action to ensure justice is served.
“We bring to the attention of the Anambra State Government the killing of thirteen indigenes of Ebonyi State at Ogboji in Orumba South Local Government Area by yet to be identified gunmen.
“While we commiserate with the bereaved families and the people of Ebonyi State, we respectfully call on His Excellency, Governor Charles Soludo, to deploy all state resources to investigate both the immediate and remote causes of this tragedy. Justice must prevail,” Nweke stated.
He further emphasized the need for the government to assert its authority and utilize all security networks to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of what he termed a “dastardly act.”
“If swift and decisive action is not taken, this could undermine the peace and stability that Governor Soludo’s administration has worked so hard to achieve over the past three years,” he added.
Prince Nweke also appealed to the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, CP Ikioye Orutugu, expressing confidence in his leadership and crime-fighting efforts, and urging him to mobilize the Command’s personnel to hunt down the culprits.
“We trust CP Orutugu’s capacity to combat criminality. We therefore call on him to ensure that no stone is left unturned in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” he said.
Nweke reiterated ANIAS’s commitment to maintaining peace and promoting security in Anambra State, noting that the association has been collaborating with the President-Generals of all 179 communities in the state.
Survivor’s Account
Narrating the incident via a phone interview, Mr. Augustine Odom, the chairman of the Ebonyi community in Ogboji, described the attack as sudden and unprovoked.
He explained that the community was holding its regular monthly meeting when the assailants struck.
“We were having our monthly meeting of the Ebonyi community, which holds on the last Monday of every month, beginning at 4:00 p.m. This gathering was known to our Town Union President. It was a peaceful meeting aimed at discussing welfare issues affecting our members. Then, around 6:30 p.m., a group of gunmen arrived in a Sienna vehicle and accused us of holding a meeting against them.”he stated.
According to Odom, the attackers demanded the group’s minutes book, and after seizing it, 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 us. Thirteen of our members were killed on the spot. The treasurer and I survived with gunshot wounds.”he added.
Odom added that those killed were from various communities in Ebonyi State, including Izzi, Ikwo, and Mgbo and other villages.
The two survivors are currently receiving treatment at a medical facility in the area. Both expressed deep shock over the incident, stating that they had no known disputes with any individual or group prior to the attack.
“We have no issues with anyone. We are law-abiding residents who simply gathered to support one another,” Odom added.
