AWKA — Panic has gripped residents of Awka North Local Government Area in Anambra State following separate violent attacks by armed men along the Ebenebe axis. The incidents resulted in the abduction of an employee of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the shooting of a local businessman.

The attacks, reported at the B Division Police Headquarters in Awka, occurred within short succession along the same road.

Sequence of Events

• Attack on Businessman: At approximately 5:45 p.m., a local businessman, Emmanuel Nwobodo, was returning home from Oba Ofemili in his vehicle when four armed men dressed in dark clothing opened fire near Ebenebe Community Secondary School. Nwobodo managed to drive through the ambush before realizing he had sustained a gunshot wound to his left knee.
• Escaping Staff & Suspicious Ransom Call: During the ambush, one of Nwobodo’s staff members, Tochukwu Afunenu, jumped out of the moving vehicle and fled into the bush while holding his employer’s ATM card and mobile phones. Nwobodo later alerted authorities after receiving voice messages from his staff member’s phone claiming he had been abducted and demanding a ₦40 million ransom.
• Abduction of INEC Staff: Around 7:00 p.m. on the same evening, an employee of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), identified as Christy Nkiru Okeke, was intercepted and abducted by gunmen along the same Ebenebe road. Her family subsequently received calls from the kidnappers demanding a ₦40 million ransom for her safe release.

Security Operations & Investigation

  LOCATION:            Ebenebe Axis, Awka North LGA, Anambra State
  ABDUCTED VICTIM:     Christy Nkiru Okeke (INEC Employee)
  INJURED VICTIM:      Emmanuel Nwobodo (Businessman - Shot in the knee)
  RANSOM DEMANDED:     ₦40 Million requested for abducted victims
  POLICE ACTION:       Anti-Kidnapping Unit & RRS combing surrounding forests

Operatives from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), and local tactical teams have been deployed to comb the surrounding forest reserves along the Awka North corridor. Police investigators are actively tracking electronic leads to determine if both ambushes were executed by the same criminal syndicate.