Gunmen Kill 2, Raze Buildings In Anambra Anglican Church Attack

Some yet-to-be-identified gunmen have attacked St. Andrews Anglican Church, Isiokwe in Lilu community of Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, killing two persons and setting parts of the church premises ablaze.

The assailants who stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday reportedly burnt vehicles, damaged sections of the main church building and razed the cleric’s residence during the attack.

Spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday.

Ikenga said the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, had ordered intensified security operations in the area.

“The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Police Command, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has condemned in the strongest terms the attack in the morning of December 7, 2025, carried out by armed criminals, which resulted in the death of one person.

“Some persons were inflicted with serious injuries, including the church building partially burnt, and other properties destroyed at a church premises in Lilu, Ihiala Local Government Area of the state,” the PPRO said.

The CP stated that the heinous and abominable act, committed against innocent worshippers, is not only an assault on the community, but a grave affront to the shared values of peace, sanctity of life, and freedom of worship.

The Command extends deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and to the entire Lilu community and assured the public that the Police shall relentlessly hunt down the perpetrators of the crime.

The CP assured that no community should be subjected to such brutality, vowing that the Command will not allow criminals to instill fear or destabilise the peace “we are working tirelessly to maintain.”

“In view of the above, the command has already intensified intelligence-driven operations, deployed the Joint Security Team, and strengthened surveillance across the area.”

Ikenga added that police operatives were acting on all available leads, stressing that no resource would be spared to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the wife of the church priest was among those killed in the incident.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that the attack disrupted planned church activities and threw the entire community into panic.

A source added that that the heavily armed hoodlums invaded the church as worshippers were getting ready for Sunday service, shooting sporadically to scare residents of the community before killing the two residents and setting properties on the church premises, including buildings, ablaze.

“Unfortunately, they brutally murdered the wife of the church priest and one other person. They also injured many others, razed down the priest’s house to ashes, burnt down some church vehicles and other church properties, including a part of the main church building.

“This wicked act on a holy day in a Christian church and in a Christian community has not had a single mention from those who are fast to share happenings from elsewhere.”