Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has vowed to deal decisively with the perpetrators of cult-killings in some communities in Anambra State.
Soludo condemned the cult-related killings in Obosi and Okpuno communities in his state, saying that the perpetrators will be apprehended to face the full wrath of the law.
The Governor’s anger swelled following the recent assassination of the President General of Obosi Community in Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, Hon Ike Okolo.
Okolo was said to have been shot dead in a petrol station in the community by yet to be identified gunmen at about 8pm on Monday.
A video circulating on the internet showed that the community leader was shot right inside his SUV, as he sat in a pool of his own blood, behind the wheels of the car.
Obosi is a town known to be notorious for cult related clashes, a development the President General is said to have stood against since he ascended to office. However, it was not clear who his killers were as at the time of filing this report.
A similar incident had taken place in Okpuno in Awka, the state capital, where a cult war claimed several lives in the new year.
Reports that reached Ikengaonline claimed that not less than four persons were shot dead at different locations, leaving residents of the town in fear of a repeat of ceaseless cult related killings that took place in the past.
Effort to get the reaction of the Police in the State was not successful as the message to the state police command’s spokesperson, DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, was yet to be replied too.
A statement by the Press Secretary to the Governor, Christian Aburime, said Governor Chukwuma Soludo has condemned the attack, noting that the state has taken steps to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to book.
It read: “The attention of Anambra State Government has been drawn to killings within the State as a consequence of cult-related war among rival cult groups in Okpuno, Ifite and Obosi communities.
“The State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has condemned the cult-related war among rival groups and subsequent killings in Obosi and Okpuno in Idemili North and Awka South Council Areas respectively.
“In Obosi, the President General of the Community, Hon. Ike Okolo was reportedly shot dead in a petrol station on Monday, 2nd January, 2022, by gunmen; while in Obi Maduka’s compound within Nodu town square, Nodu Okpuno, gunmen killed four people identified as Onyiebo Okoye, Kenechukwu Okeke, Jude Ebenezar and Obinna Maduka.
“Governor Soludo condemns these mindless killings in the strongest terms and has assured that the perpetrators will be apprehended and decisively dealt with, even if they have ran out of town. He stressed that they will be hunted down to face the full wrath of the law
“Governor Soludo further reassured that the cult gangs that fought today will surely be tracked down and dealt with decisively in accordance with the law.
“He called on Ndi Anambra to go about their normal duties and enjoy the season as the challenges are isolated cases that will be nipped in the bud soon.”
