Tension gripped Onitsha Main Market on Tuesday after operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra Brigade (Ocha Brigade) allegedly opened fire during a confrontation with traders, leaving several people dead and others injured.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred at the Emeka Offor Plaza axis when the task force moved to disperse traders displaying goods along the road. The operation reportedly turned violent, with operatives firing shots that struck multiple people, including a pregnant woman. Traders claimed at least four lives were lost.
Outraged traders retaliated by setting ablaze a car said to belong to the Ocha Brigade commander, accusing the outfit of habitual harassment. “Onitsha people are angry,” one witness said in a video from the scene.
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The police, however, confirmed a lower casualty figure. In a statement, spokesperson SP Tochukwu Ikenga said one victim, identified as 22-year-old Chinwe Igwe, was confirmed dead, while six others sustained gunshot injuries and are receiving treatment. He added that calm had been restored after tactical teams were deployed.
Ikenga said the Brigade operatives involved would be identified and prosecuted.
The Ocha Brigade, set up under Governor Chukwuma Soludo to enforce environmental laws, has long faced accusations of brutality against traders and residents.
Tuesday’s incident has fueled fresh outrage, with critics accusing the state government of empowering “government thugs” who terrorize citizens in the name of enforcement.
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