US Gov’t Vows To Get Killers Of Embassy Staff In Nigeria Town

The United States government has vowed to work with the Nigerian security apparatus to apprehend assailants who attacked its convoy in Anambra State and killed at least four members.

This was disclosed in a statement by the US Department of State on Wednesday.

Earlier, the Nigeria Police Force had confirmed the development saying at least two members of staff of the US consulate were murdered by the yet-to-be -identified gunmen.

What was not clear in the statement from the police was whether the US staff were Americans or Nigerians.

Same day, the US confirmed that some unknown assailants indeed attacked its convoy in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria, on Tuesday.

Though silent on the citizenship of the deceased members of the convoy, it maintained that US values its “Locally Employed Staff.

” The convoy was carrying nine Nigerian nationals: five employees of the U.S. Mission to Nigeria and four members of the Nigeria Police Force.

” They were traveling in advance of a planned visit by U.S. Mission personnel to a U.S.-funded flood response project in Anambra.

“The assailants killed at least four members of the convoy, and U.S. Mission personnel are working urgently with Nigerian counterparts to ascertain the location and condition of the members of the convoy who are unaccounted for,” the statement partly reads.

The US government added that it does not know the motive behind the attack even though there is currently no indications that it was targeted against our Mission.

But it condemned the attackers while commiserating with the deceased.

The statement partly reads:

“We condemn in the strongest terms this attack. We will work closely with our Nigerian law enforcement colleagues in seeking to bring those responsible to justice.

“The United States has no greater priority than the safety and security of our personnel. We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the attack, and pledge to do everything possible to safely recover those who remain missing.

“We deeply value our relationship with our Locally Employed Staff and our partnership with Nigeria.

“The United States reaffirms its commitment to the people of Nigeria to assist in the fight against violence and insecurity.”