The White House has confirmed the attack on a convoy of US consulate staff on a humanitarian mission in Ogbaru LGA, Anambra State on Tuesday, stating that no American citizen was killed.
Yesterday afternoon, the convoy of the officials was attacked by armed assailants in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State resulting in the death of four persons, including US consulate staff and their police escorts.
“At least four persons were killed in the attack while others sustained injuries. Troops have taken over the community,” a security source said.
Reacting on the tragic incident at a press briefing, John Kirby, a White House spokesperson, said no American citizen was killed. “What I can tell you is that no U.S. citizens were involved, but we are aware of some casualties, perhaps even some killed, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of where we are right now,” he said.
The US mission Nigeria had earlier revealed that its personnel were collaborating with Nigerian security operatives to probe the incident. “We confirm there was an incident on May 16 in Anambra state. U.S. Mission Nigeria personnel are working with Nigerian security services to investigate. The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organizing trips to the field. We have no further comment at this time,” a US Mission Nigeria spokesperson said.
The spokesperson for the Anambra Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, shed more light on the attack, narrating how the assailants “made away with two police operatives and a driver of the second vehicle in the convoy.”
Ikenga said police operatives under the state command have embarked on a “search and rescue” operation in the area. He also confirmed that the victim’s remains were burnt by their killers.
