THE Police have dismissed reports that four terrorists attempted to attack the Grace of God Church in Onitsha on Sunday.
DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, a police spokesman in Anambra, made the refutation via a statement in Awka, today.
He noted that a Facebook post by a person named Chinasa Nworu claiming that terrorists broke into the church was intended to deceive the people.
One of the alleged terrorists was lynched by a mob, according to Nworu’s tweet, while the other three ran away to a neighboring military barracks.
“The post was not only false, but a complete mischievous scheme to cause tension in the state by inciting ethnic, and or religious hatred and conflict.
“The police will not allow bad elements in any guise to distract the peace enjoyed in the state,’’ he stated.
Ikenga explained that the police received a distress call on Sunday that one criminal was set ablaze in an area of the town.
“Police operatives made enquiries on arrival at the scene and gathered that the victim was a criminal caught in an attempt to rob someone before he was lynched by an angry mob,’’ he stated.
He added that there was no military barracks close to where the incident happened as claimed by the Facebook user.
“It was just a mischievous and sensational reaction by the Facebook user to achieve his selfish desire from the unfortunate incident; that is why he posted the write-up without effort at verification of the facts,’’ he added.
Ikenga emphasized that anytime an arrest was made in connection with any crime, the police had always opposed mob behavior.
