Nawfia, Anambra State – Clarion News Channel Exclusive Report
December 10, 2025
Terror descended on the vibrant Afor Market Junction in Nawfia community, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, on December 7, when masked gunmen in a black Lexus Jeep stormed the area, unleashing a hail of bullets that claimed four lives and sowed panic among traders and residents in a ruthless spasm of violence. Anambra State Police Command confirmed the atrocity on December 8, attributing the assault to a brutal clash between rival cult groups, with Superintendent of Police Tochukwu Ikenga detailing how the assailants “opened fire indiscriminately” on unsuspecting civilians, leaving the junction—a bustling hub of daily commerce—stained with blood and grief.
Eyewitnesses, their voices trembling in interviews with Clarion News, recounted the horror unfolding around dusk: “They came out of nowhere, shouting and shooting like it was a war zone,” said market vendor Chioma Eze, who dove behind a stall as bullets ricocheted off metal roofs. “People were screaming, running everywhere—children separated from mothers, bodies dropping in the dust. By the time it stopped, the air smelled of gunpowder and death.” The attack, which lasted mere minutes but felt eternal, targeted no one in particular, ensnaring innocent bystanders in what locals decried as a “senseless act of violence” amid escalating cult rivalries plaguing the southeast.
Chief Daniel Okoye, President General of the Nawfia Progressive Union, broke the news in a heartbroken statement that evening: “This evening, I received with deep shock the tragic news of an attack at the Afor Market Junction… The incident resulted in multiple casualties.” He extended “deepest sympathies” to shattered families, vowing the union’s full support for security probes while urging residents to “remain calm, stay vigilant, and cooperate with operatives.” As of December 10, investigations continue, with police deploying additional patrols, but no arrests have been announced, fueling fears of reprisals in a community already scarred by kidnappings, banditry, and armed robberies.
The bloodshed drew swift, fiery condemnation from the African Action Congress (AAC), which on December 8 lambasted the “unacceptable surge in insecurity” across Anambra, spotlighting the Nawfia massacre alongside a separate gunmen raid on a church in Lilu, Ihiala LGA, that same day. In a statement dripping with outrage, the party demanded “immediate attention” and sweeping security reforms: “These attacks on innocent civilians… are a clarion call for enhanced security measures, community policing, and decisive action against cultism.” AAC leaders called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo and federal authorities to prioritize intelligence-sharing and youth empowerment to dismantle the roots of such violence, warning that “insecurity has become a pressing concern, with kidnapping, banditry, cultism, and armed robbery on the rise.”
For Nawfia’s grieving families—traders forever silenced, youths cut down in their prime—this isn’t abstract policy talk; it’s a raw wound in a state where cult clashes have claimed dozens this year alone. As funerals loom and markets reopen under heavy guard, the question hangs heavy: How many more junctions must run red before real reform arrives? Clarion News stands with Anambra—demanding answers, amplifying voices.
Reporting by Clarion News Southeast Desk.
Anambra Bloodbath: Gunmen Unleash Market Massacre in Nawfia, Killing Four and Igniting Calls for Security Overhaul
