Police ‘rescue’ US consulate staff abducted in Anambra

The Anambra police command says it has rescued two abducted staff of the US consulate.

Ikenga Tochukwu, Anambra police spokesperson, said the rescue took place in the early hours of Friday.

On Tuesday, gunmen attacked a convoy conveying staff of the US consulate, officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), and some civilians. 

Two police operatives were killed alongside two staff of the consulate.

The police spokesperson said the bodies of the victims were set ablaze by the gunmen.

Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, had said some members of the convoy remained unaccounted for.

He said the US would collaborate with Nigerian security agencies to ensure that the attackers are brought to book.

Although there is no clear motive for the attack, Echeng Echeng, Anambra police commissioner, alleged that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) were behind the ambush.

He spoke while announcing the arrest of two suspects on Thursday.

US: PERPETRATORS MUST FACE JUSTICE

The US mission also confirmed the release of the staff in a statement on Friday.

Joe Kruzich, spokesperson of the mission in Nigeria, said the missing employees had been found and are under the protection of authorities in Anambra.

“We have informed their families of their safe recovery. U.S. mission personnel are on their way to meet and accompany them home,” Kruzich said.

“We continue to work intensively with Nigerian security and law enforcement on this matter, to identify the victims previously found, and to bring to justice those responsible for this heinous attack.

“We welcome any information the public may have in this regard.”

The US mission expressed its condolences with victims of the attack and thanked the Nigerian government for its solidarity in addressing the situation.

Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), had also condemned the attack.

She said the ambush happened while the convoy was travelling to a USAID-funded project in Anambra that is providing humanitarian assistance to those who remain displaced as a result of last year’s historic flooding.

Power described the victims as heroes who were killed while building a better future for Nigeria, adding that the best way to honour their memories would be to bring the killers to justice.