The Anambra State Police Command has rejected rumors circulating on social media that 21 soldiers were brutally slain by gunmen in the state.
Rumors circulated since Tuesday that a squad of 21 soldiers en route to Enugu State were ambushed and killed in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Monday evening.
In reaction to these allegations, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, issued a statement on Wednesday rejecting them. He referred to the reports as ‘’misleading,’ ‘unfounded,’ and ‘false.’
The statement stated, “The Anambra State Police Command is aware of a misleading, unfounded, and false report titled, ‘Gunmen kill 21 soldiers in Anambra’, recently peddled by some online media and national dailies.
“The Command wishes to state that the report is untrue, a product of fiction, and the handiwork of mischief-makers.
“Also, the Command, in dismay at the news, has observed that the said hospital mentioned in the report, where the corpses of the soldiers are allegedly kept, does not exist in Awka, the state capital.
“Further inquiries were made by the Command, showing that there is no record of such an incident or otherwise, but deliberate acts by unscrupulous elements are to cause tension in the state.”
The state police command said it would not hesitate to invoke relevant cyber laws on anyone found wanting in this regard, urging the public to disregard the report.
The police statement intends to alleviate the rising fear and stress caused by circulating rumors, as well as to reassure the people that the state is peaceful and secure.
As investigations into the origins of these false allegations continue, the Anambra State Police Command remains dedicated to maintaining law and order while debunking misinformation that may cause panic and unrest among communities.