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Gunmen on Sunday struck at the Assemblies of God Church on the Oguta road Onitsha, Anambra State killing one policeman and a civilian., PUNCH reports.
The church is located on Oguta road in Onitsha.
The attack comes exactly a week after a Catholic church was attacked in the Ozubulu area of the state.
According to Punch, an eyewitness was quoted as saying the policeman killed was one of the security detail deployed to the church.
“Gunmen on Okada (motorcycle) shot a policeman and collected his rifle. They also shot dead an Okada man while escaping, and the passenger he was carrying was injured,” a witness said.
“The policeman was the one armed among his colleagues, they were providing security while church service was going on at Assemblies of God Church, Oguta road Onitsha.”
Another witness said the police officers ran for safety when the exchange of fire became “too hot”.
“When the firing became too hot, the policemen abandoned their patrol vehicle and ran away for safety. The gunmen moved to their patrol van and took a gun belonging to the policeman they killed,” the second witness said
“I saw two of the gunmen but I can’t say how many they are in number.”
It is unclear why the gunmen struck, but Garba Umar, commissioner of police in Anambra, while confirming the incident, said: “It was not an attack on the church, in the real sense of it.”
“My men were on patrol near the church when they were attacked by some gunmen.”