ISUOFIA, Nigeria — Armed assailants launched an attack on a security checkpoint in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Thursday evening, setting a patrol vehicle ablaze and engaging officers in a gun battle that left one security operative wounded and two attackers dead.
Isuofia, the hometown of Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, has faced intermittent attacks since 2021.
The latest incident occurred around 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, 2025, according to eyewitness accounts, four months after Governor Soludo launched Operation Udo Ga-Achi — a security initiative involving military, paramilitary, and local vigilante forces.
The Anambra State Police Command confirmed the incident in a statement issued by its spokesperson, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, who clarified that while one officer was injured, no security personnel were confirmed dead at the scene.
“Regrettably, one of the security operatives was fatally wounded during the ensuing gun battle and due to the superior fire of the Joint security team, the criminals abandoned one of their operational vehicles, a Toyota Sienna, and fled the scene,” Ikenga said.
He noted that two of the assailants were “neutralised” during the confrontation, and that a security vehicle was destroyed by fire set by the gunmen.
Commissioner of Police Ikioye Orutugu described the attack as a “test of the collective resolve of Ndi Anambra working with security forces to dislodge the criminal elements in the State.”
In response to the incident, security in the area has been reinforced.
“Calm has returned to the area and security [has been] reinforced with more armed operatives currently combing nearby bushes for possible arrest of the fleeing miscreants,” Ikenga added.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing and further updates will be provided as they become available.
