‘We Were Instructed Not To Kill Anyone Yet’ – Gunmen Told Staff Of Anambra Broadcasting Service During Attack

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According to a report by SaharaReporters, the gunmen who attacked the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) located in Awada Obosi in the commercial city of Onitsha in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State said they were instructed by their sponsors not to shoot anyone.

SaharaReporters had reported how the arsonists set two operational vehicles parked at the premises of the station and a building housing the studio of the station ablaze, but there was no life lost during the incident.

Speaking with SaharaReporters, one of the victims and eyewitnesses, whose identity is kept for safety reasons, said that the gunmen who attacked the station with guns and other weapons deliberately did not kill any staff and the security guards on duty because they were “instructed not to kill anybody.”

The victim, who narrated his account to SaharaReporters from an undisclosed hospital in the town, said one of the attackers was eager to shoot at the workers but the other gunmen kept reminding him that they had instructions not to kill anyone.

The witness said, “It was very early in the morning. In fact, the day had not broken and so, I was still sleeping when I felt a touch of something on my body. With sleepy eyes, I turned around only to see two people, one pointing a gun at my face and the other one pointing a gun to my belly.

“I did not know what to do as they quickly ordered me to give them my phones, which I did. They ordered me out and then I saw the other staff who was also on night duty and the security men lying down on the ground. They collected all our phones.

“We were all lying down while they were beating us with what I don’t know; whether it was a belt or what, but it was sharp. As I speak with you now, all my body is filled with bruises.

“While they were beating us as we lay down on the ground, one of them who did not have a gun kept saying, “Let us first shoot their legs. Let us just shoot these people,” but his colleagues with guns said, “Remember we were instructed not to kill anybody.”

“When they refused to give him a gun to shoot us, he asked another one of their colleagues to bring the fuel they had in a gallon. I don’t know if they wanted to set us ablaze but God just helped us and they then used the fuel to burn the two vehicles.

“He was so much ready to shoot if he had a gun. We were only lucky that he did not have a gun, maybe he wouldn't have listened to his colleagues. But what I don’t know is; who instructed them not to kill anybody, because they did not mention anyone.”

The attacks and killings in Anambra State have doubled since March 17, after Governor Chukwuma Soludo, assumed office and vowed to wipe off criminals in the state.

Since his assumption of office, the gunmen have attacked and burnt down at least three local government secretariats including Aguata where the governor hails from.

Last week, a House of Assembly member in the state from Governor Soludo’s community of Isuofia was beheaded by gunmen who kidnapped him days earlier without demanding a ransom.