Police in Anambra State have debunked a report affirming that a terrorist group invaded a church in the state, last Sunday, with the intention of bombing it.
A Facebook user, Chinasa Nworu, had claimed in a post that four “Fulani Terrorists” snuck into Grace of God Church, Awada, to bomb the church and that one of the terrorists was captured and burned alive while three others escaped. and ran towards a Nigerian military headquarters in the area.
But police spokesman in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement Tuesday, said the report was untrue, describing it as the work of miscreants who wanted to cause tension in the state.
Ikenga said the incident was a case of mob action against a suspected criminal in the area, and not a terrorist attack.
“Officers, upon arrival at the scene, questioned eyewitnesses (which) showed the victim to be a criminal caught trying to rob an innocent citizen before he was lynched and set on fire by an angry mob.” said.
The police spokesman said the Facebook user was simply sensationalizing “to achieve his selfish desire” because there was no military barracks near where the incident occurred.
He warned that the police would not allow “bad elements to distract peace in the state.”
He said that the command has always condemned the action of the mafia and has continued to urge residents to hand over suspected criminals to the police for proper investigation.
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Police Commissioner in the state, Echeng Echeng, ordered an “immediate investigation” into the Facebook user’s claim, which he said was “a liar and unlucky,” Ikenga said.
The police commissioner said the publication was capable of misinforming and misleading the general public.
Echeng warned those who make such posts to desist from the act, saying that they would not be saved when they were stopped by the police.
About a month ago, suspected terrorists killed dozens of worshipers, including children, at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, in State of Ondosouthwestern Nigeria.