Gunmen on Tuesday targeted a convoy of U.S. Embassy staffers in southeast Nigeria, killing two of its local workers and two policemen in Ogbaru local government area in Anambra State
The spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command Tobechukwu Ikenga confirmed the development in a statement but said no US citizen was in the convoy.
“The hoodlums murdered two of the PMF operatives, and two staff of the Consulate, and set their bodies and vehicles ablaze. Also, the arsonist/murderers on sighting the responding joint security forces abducted two Police operatives, the driver of the second vehicle and took to their heels. No U.S citizen was in the convoy.”
While expressing the Command’s regret over the convoy’s entry into the state without recourse to the police or any other security agency in the area, the spokesman assured that the police won’t be deterred in their battle against insurgents.
He added that in such battle “will remain sustained until such a time security stability is fully restored”.
A joint team of security forces was deployed to the scene but arrived only after the assailants escaped with two other police officers and one of the drivers, Ikenga added. He said no U.S. citizen was on the trip.
U.S. State Department said its personnel in Nigeria are working with the nation’s security agencies to investigate Tuesday’s attack. “The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organizing trips to the field,” the State Department said in a statement.
The US National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said no American citizen was affected.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks in Anambra. In recent times, there have been targeted assaults on security and government facilities and high-profile people or organisations in the state.
While no group has claimed the attacks, security agencies say they are battle ready to take on the perpetrators.
