Firefighters attacked in Onitsha for arriving late

Some angry Onistha residents on Sunday, January 1, attacked operatives of the Anambra State Fire Service for allegedly arriving late at the scene of a fire incident.

Director/Fire Chief of Anambra Fire Service, Martin Agbili, said the angry mob shattered the windscreen and side mirrors of the fire truck, and also injured some of the operatives who turned up at the scene of the fire incident at Atani Road, by Uga Junction, Onitsha.

Agbili described the incident as barbaric and a bad way to start the New Year. The statement read; 

“On Sunday, January 1, 2023, at about 1800hours, Anambra State Fire Service received a distress call of fire incident at Uga junction by Atani road.

“Immediately our fire truck and firefighters were deployed to the scene. On arrival to the fire scene, the mob attacked us.

“They threw stones, sticks and irons at us. Unfortunately, they shattered the windscreen of our fire trucks, the side glasses and also wounded some firefighters.

“As they started throwing stones on the fire truck while the fire was still on, what we could hear was, ‘is it now that you people are coming to fight the fire?

“We managed to escape the mob attack with our shattered windscreen and some injured firefighters.

“This gift of New Year is really unfortunate, that our hardworking firefighters of Anambra State will be welcomed to the New Year with this barbaric act.

“Perpetrators of this ugly act will surely be brought to book.”