Four persons have been confirmed dead after armed cultists stormed the Afor Market Junction in the Nawfia community, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Sunday, opening fire on residents and traders.
The Anambra State Police Command spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday.
The release, signed on behalf of the Command, said the killings were linked to a rival cult clash carried out by gang members who moved in a black Lexus Jeep with a registration number “yet unknown”.
According to Ikenga, the assailants arrived the market area in the evening and “opened fire indiscriminately”, causing panic as residents ran for safety.
He added that the gunmen fled the scene before police operatives arrived, but officers recovered preliminary information that is already helping in the investigation.
The Command said, “The Anambra State Police Command wishes to provide a comprehensive update on the cult-related attack that occurred on the evening of December 7, 2025, at Afor Nawfia Market, along the Onitsha–Awka Old Road.”
It recalled that operatives of the Special Anti-Cult Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, had, four days earlier, arrested two dangerous suspects on the strength of credible intelligence on a planned rival cult confrontation and also recovered a firearm.
“The arrested suspects have been assisting the Police with valuable information aimed at preventing further cult-related violence within Awka and its environs,” the statement noted.
Despite those earlier efforts, Ikenga said some members of the same gang still launched the Sunday attack. “The violent attack resulted in the death of four persons, after which the assailants fled the scene. Although the hoodlums escaped before police arrival, preliminary information obtained at the scene has provided useful leads, and the Command is already acting on them to ensure the perpetrators are tracked down and arrested.”
Ikenga assured residents that the Command remains firm in its resolve to tackle cultism and all forms of violent crime across Anambra. “Further developments will be communicated as investigations progress,” he said.
Residents of Nawfia said the incident created fear across the community. One of the sources said, “The armed hoodlums invaded Afor Market Junction and immediately opened fire, killing a lot of people. Nobody knows the reason behind the attack, but the attack has left our community shaken.”
Another eyewitness near the scene said, “It was chaos. The attackers came out of nowhere this evening in a commando-like fashion and started shooting indiscriminately. The police have launched an investigation into the attacks and are working to apprehend the perpetrators.”
A video circulating online shows residents running in panic while some lifeless bodies lie in pools of blood on the ground.
The police have assured that updates will be released as the investigation progresses.
