According to one of the Ozo title holders who was present at the event, Barr Emmanuel Ilo, the gun-wielding attackers stormed the venue and started beating up everyone in sight.
He said many of the participants and organisers were brutalised by the gunmen who later took away about eight people.
Ilo, who said he barely escaped by dint of divine intervention, reported that the policemen guarding the venue attempted to resist the attackers but were overpowered.
“I managed to escape from the scene when the gunmen struck.
“Without any explanation or engagement with the organisers of the event, the men began to scatter things at the venue, intimidate, and brutalise many of the participants and organisers, while the armed men stood by, including some dressed in police uniforms,” he stated.
Ilu further disclosed that the Amakor village Chairman, Barr. Obinna Ilo, Emerie Ilo, Sam Emenike, and Chief Asina Okafor, were among the eight people kidnapped after the assault .
He said the victims were forced into waiting Sienna vehicles and driven to an unknown location, at the same time, some participants who managed to escape have since gone into hiding.
The Ozo title holder lamented that the whereabouts of the abducted persons remains unknown, as no contact has been made with their families.
Ilo noted that the victims’ phone lines had been switched off since the incident.
The incident has left the abducted individual’s families and the entire community in a state of uncertainty as the motives and identities of the perpetrators remain unclear.
Ilo explained that brothers of the Amakor village Chairman, Peter Emerie Ilo and Chike Ilo, and Madueke Nwafor were being initiated into the Ozo society at the well-attended event before the gunmen struck.
“While the event was reaching its climax, some armed men, some of whom covered their faces, stormed the venue, accompanied by some community members, including former village Chairman Mr Chinedu Nwankwo and Caretaker Committee Chairman Mr Ejike Nwafor, and immediately began their attack,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Police Command said it was unaware of any such incident
