TheCable

An unconfirmed number of people are feared to have been killed after gunmen suspected to be members of a cult group invaded a burial ceremony in Ebenebe, Awka north LGA of Anambra state.

Several persons are also said to have been injured in the incident that occurred on Saturday afternoon.

The armed assailants reportedly desecrated the corpse that was lying-in-state for burial.

Tochukwu Ikenga, police public relations officer (PPRO) in Anambra, confirmed the incident to TheCable.

He said the burial ceremony was for an alleged cultist, while the attackers are members of a rival sect.

“There was a shooting incident that happened there that is cult-related,” he said.

“The commissioner of police in the person of CP Echeng Echeng, in the receipt of the information, ordered our operatives to visit the scene.

“Operations are ongoing though I can’t ascertain the level of casualties that happened there.

“It was at a burial ceremony of an alleged cultist that the rival cult group came and launched an attack.”

The police spokesperson said officers have been deployed for a “mop-up operation”, adding that calm has been restored in the area.

The attack is the latest in a string of attacks in the south-eastern state leading to killings and abductions.

Earlier in February, gunmen attacked a police station in Uli, Ihiala LGA of the state.