Panic spread through the Agulu and Nanka communities in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State on Thursday after unknown gunmen gunned down a lawyer and his client shortly after a court session.
Eyewitnesses said the victims had just left the courtroom when they were trailed and attacked along the Amawbia-Agulu-Nanka-Ekwulobia-Uga-Akokwa road, a busy route that cuts through the area.
One local resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted the significance of the case the lawyer had been handling. “The case the lawyer was handling for the client was a very big case. The incident happened at a boundary between Nanka and Agulu, along the popular Amawbia-Agulu-Nanka-Ekwulobia-Uga-Akokwa road in the early hours of Thursday,” the source said.
Witnesses recounted that the lawyer was shot first, followed by his client who tried to flee the scene. The assailants quickly fled the area afterward.
Police have launched a probe into the killings. The spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident and said investigations were ongoing.
He stated that the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, had visited the crime scene with a team of senior officers and detectives. Initial findings indicate that the victims were targeted after their court appearance.
“The CP on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at about 11:30am, led a team of senior officers—including the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations and experienced detectives from the Command—on a visit to the crime scene at Egbebelu village, Nanka, Orumba North Local Government Area, where two persons were gruesomely murdered by yet-to-be-identified armed men operating on a motorcycle,” Ikenga said.
He continued, “The visit follows a reported incident involving the murder of two individuals, one of whom has been identified as a legal practitioner who had earlier secured the bail of an accused person in a pending murder case at High Court II, Ekwulobia.
“Preliminary investigations suggest that the victims were attacked while returning from the court session, having been trailed and double-crossed by the assailants.
“One of the victims survived the attack and is currently receiving medical treatment at a hospital. The escapee has been debriefed by the Police and has provided crucial information that is aiding ongoing investigations and manhunt operations.
“The bodies of the deceased have been recovered and positively identified by their respective families. In the course of the preliminary investigations, a red Toyota Camry vehicle, believed to belong to one of the deceased, was recovered from the scene.”
Ikenga also said that tactical and intelligence teams have been deployed to hunt down the culprits. “Further updates will be provided in due course as the investigation progresses,” he added.
(PUNCH)