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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

Anambra CP summons area commander, DPOs over Onitsha shooting

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Anambra State Police Commissioner Nnanna Ama summoned Onitsha police commanders following a shooting incident at the Head Bridge of the River Niger.
  • The incident occurred when police officers pursued and shot a trader who refused to stop, leading to chaos and injuries to five people.
  • The CP's meeting aims to improve operational supervision, accountability, and professionalism within the command, especially in the commercial hub of Onitsha.

Anambra State Police Commissioner Nnanna Ama has summoned the Area Commander and all Divisional Police Officers in Onitsha for an urgent meeting following a shooting incident that left five people injured. The incident occurred at the Head Bridge of the River Niger when police officers allegedly pursued and shot a trader who refused to stop while en route to waybill drugs.

The shooting sparked a riot in the market and led to a standstill of both vehicular and non-vehicular movements at the bridge. The police officers fired sporadically to create a passage for their escape as the situation escalated, thereby injuring some other persons who were later rushed to the hospital.

— eyewitnessdescribing the immediate aftermath of the shooting incident.

Eyewitnesses and traders reported that the police officers attempted to arrest the trader over the drugs he was carrying. When he refused to stop, they fired shots, causing chaos and pandemonium. The sporadic firing by the officers to create an escape route injured several bystanders.

Victims shared their harrowing experiences. Obiora Nweke recounted being shot in the leg by an officer in mufti while trying to understand a commotion. Another victim, Friday Osisi, sustained a head injury from a stone while attempting to de-escalate the situation. Four of the five injured individuals suffered gunshot wounds.

I moved closer to inquire about what was happening, only for a man in mufti, who identified himself as a police officer, to bring out a gun and shoot me in the leg.

— Obiora Nwekenarrating his experience as a victim of the shooting.

Police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the CP's high-level supervisory meeting, emphasizing efforts to strengthen operational supervision, accountability, and professionalism within the command, particularly in the vital commercial center of Onitsha.

The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, on Thursday, summoned the Area Commander and all Divisional Police Officers serving within Onitsha to his office in Awka for a high-level supervisory meeting, following the incident that occurred yesterda

— Tochukwu Ikengaconfirming the police commissioner's actions and the purpose of the meeting.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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