Fact-Check: Did Gunmen Destroy Northerners’ Trucks Conveying Foodstuff along Onitsha-Owerri Road in Anambra? 

Fact-Check: Did Gunmen Destroy Northerners’ Trucks Conveying Foodstuff along Onitsha-Owerri Road in Anambra? 

Claim: A 1-minute and 22-second video of a man speaking in Hausa recently emerged on Whatsapp claiming that unknown gunmen had attacked and destroyed trucks of Northerners containing foodstuffs and other goods along Onitsha-Owerri Road In Anambra State. 

Full-Text: The video which was widely shared on Whatsapp groups and other social media platforms reads: “… This is what is happening along Onitsha-Owerri Road. May Almighty Allah make it easy for us. They just saw our vehicles going to the town and started attacking us and burning our vehicles including the goods. Please help us. That is the situation we are in. Everybody should see it. This is what is happening tonus along Onitsha-Owerri Road. I didn’t sleep since yesterday…” 

Verification: PRNigeria conducted a keyword search and results from DailyPost, TheStreetJournal, and PoliticsNigeria among other credible media outlets have published that unknown gunmen had attacked and set 15 trucks and shops ablaze in Anambra State.

PRNigeria observed that there is a discrepancy regarding the date of the attack. The StreetJournal reported that the attack happened on Thursday night while The Nation and PoliticsNigeria published that it happened on Friday morning. 

The StreetJournal published, “the hoodlums also dropped sheets of paper, bearing typed messages, saying there will be no peace until Kanu was released.”

Speaking to PRNigeria, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu described the incident as “a case of arson and robbery.” 

He said: “the goods, shops, and cars burnt along Onitsha-Owerri Road belong to different people comprising Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, and other tribes, not just a particular tribe. It’s an unfortunate situation and a pure act of wickedness. Three trucks were affected and yet one unidentified car. 

“These criminals when they discovered the drivers they wanted to rob had escaped, put fire to their vehicles which affected other cars there. No arrest made yet, but we are already working with information from the eye witness/locals,” he further explained. 

Tochukwu added that the police alongside locals quickly went to the scene and put the fire out, noting that some of the vehicles recovered were not affected and no such sheets linked to the release of Nnamdi Kanu were dropped there. 

Conclusion: Based on accounts of eyewitnesses and the facts gathered by PRNigeria, the victims of the attack along Onitsha-Owerri Road include Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, and other tribes. 

Therefore, the claim that the attack was targeted at northerners is FALSE.

By PRNigeria

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