Obi of Onitsha survives kidnap attempt
National News Oct 3, 2009

AWKA—The official residence of the OBI of Onitsha and Chairman of the Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Alfred Achebe was  on Thursday night the venue of a fierce gun duel between unspecified number of gunmen and policemen.

At the end of the shoot out two of the gunmen lay dead. The gunmen had swooped on the Obi’s residence located in the GRA part of the town for what observers said was either a kidnap or an assassination attempt.

Two of the dead were said to be some of the gun men while the third, a woman said to have been felled by stray bullet. She was said to be a beans cake baker in the vicinity.

Achebe who will be celeberating his 8th Ofala festival in the ancient town of Onitsha on Monday, was said to have narrowly  escaped the trap of the gunmen  following the quick intervention of the police.

The gunmen who were said to have operated in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a Mercedes salon car, drove into his residence at about 8 . 00 pm and tried to force themselves into the house when the men of Special Anti Robbery Squad, (SARS) attached to the Onitsha Area command dislodged them.

According  to an eye witness, the gunmen engaged the police in a shoot out before they were eventually overpowered by the Police.

The  Onitsha Police Area Commander, Mr. John Nwele who confirmed the incident, added that the police recovered the two vehicles used by the gunmen.  Some arms and ammunitions, including a rocket launcher with war-head, five AK 45 rifles, 53 loaded live magazines, 14 expended magazines, one giraffe grenade and one bag containing clothes.

Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka said the gunmen started their operation at Neni in Aniocha LGA and drove to Onitsha for the operation.

“Actually there was an attempt by some hoodlums to abduct the  monarch on Thursday evening, but it was foiled by policemen within Onitsha who gave a hot chase and gunned down two of them,” Chukwuemeka said.

See http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/10/03/obi-of-onitsha-survives-kidnap-attempt/

Wetin The Man Do Them?

wow things are really getting crazy down there. Wetin concern the Obi of Onitsha with these hoodlums?
good they got killed

thank God,

Some arms and ammunitions, including a [b]rocket launcher [/b]with war-head, five AK 45 rifles, 53 loaded live magazines, 14 expended magazines, one giraffe grenade and one bag containing clothes.

Rocket launcher? wtf lol

And where are these warrior thieves when the Borok harams start their madness up north? USELESS ppl.

may God punish them them, can't they atleast respect his crown & staff of office,

igbos.

That rocket launcher would be a shoulder-fired RPG7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher, which could reduce any car to a flat, smoking chassis with a direct hit. It was only a matter of time before such hardware would filter out of the Niger Delta and into the hands of common criminals.

Jakumo:

It was only a matter of time before such hardware would filter out of the Niger Delta and into the hands of common criminals.

I blame it on the palm bunches!.
Why can't people take responsibility for their own actions, you will soon be telling us that Niger Delta introduced criminality.

*jona:

igbos.

wetin - you no dey tire?

let us pray!

Where do they get these weapons?

Gone are the days when hoodlums strike with machetes,locally made pistols and double barrels; now its ak47s, grenades and rocket lunchers.
God save Nigeria. Hope we are not approaching an era when armed robbers and kidnappers will be terrorizing people with jet bombers, submarines and helicopter gunships.

@snowdros: you re funny.

This people don't have respect again.

Thank God o

Abeg no blame Niger Delta. Those idiots are adults and know right or wrong so they did it themselves. Yes recent kidnapping started from ND but u can choose to do it or not if you do u are the idiot. Kidnapping is nothing new. A relative of mine once got kidnapped in PH for some ransom back mid 90s.

Governors, Ministers, President - those are the people these boys should be kidnapping. . . not any traditional ruler for God's sake. Kidnap the big fish and not the plankton

I hope they catch the bastards and execute them.

Nigeria is indiscriminately losing her core fundamental bearings,it is becoming a real wild wild west.

As primitive as we are as regards catching with the real world,losing our heritage and core traditions will spell total doom.It will mean a total loss of cohesion even on the grass root.

Maybe he survived thanks to some hoodoo, voodoo, obeah, nri shrine concoction.

i

Shola2009:

if they really had the rocket luncher with war head, i believe they where battle ready. my question is why didnt they use it on the police chasing them, Naija big pass as una imagine

Long live the Obi of Onitsha,Long live the Nigerian Police,we will survive this

Why didnt they use the rocket launcher?
Stupid fools

Make dem just maintain this madness for their side.

Ibo kwenu! kwenu!!

Awusas introduced kidnapping into nigeria. As far back as early 80's they sent kidnappers to kidnap Umaru Dikko.

I wonder why these kidnappers won't think of doing something useful with their lives than die like chicken killed by Police bullets.

They do it because they get away with it easily.Even a state government pays ransom to kidnappers in nigeria,which means we are not in anyway different from somalia.

Nigeria is in a state of war.