Some yet-to-be-identified gunmen have attacked St. Andrews Anglican Church in the Isiokwe area of Lilu community, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, killing two persons and setting parts of the church premises ablaze.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SADR.jpeg")
The attackers, who stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday, reportedly burnt vehicles, destroyed sections of the main church building, and razed the cleric’s residence during the assault.
Spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday, noting that the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, had ordered intensified security operations in the area.
According to Ikenga, “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 CP described the attack as a heinous and abominable act committed against innocent worshippers, saying it was not only an assault on the community but also a grave affront to the shared values of peace, sanctity of life, and freedom of worship.
He extended sympathies to the families of the victims and the Lilu community while assuring the public that the police would relentlessly hunt down the perpetrators. He stressed that no community should be subjected to such brutality and vowed that the Command would not allow criminals to instill fear or destabilise the peace being maintained.
“In view of the above, the command has already intensified intelligence-driven operations, deployed the Joint Security Team, and strengthened surveillance across the area,” he said.
Ikenga added that police operatives were acting on all available leads, stressing that no resource would be spared to ensure the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted.
Community sources confirmed that the wife of the church priest was among those killed in the incident.
Eyewitnesses said the attack disrupted planned church activities and threw the entire community into panic. One source narrated that the heavily armed assailants invaded the church as worshippers prepared for Sunday service, shooting sporadically to scare residents before killing two people and setting several structures ablaze.
“Unfortunately, they brutally murdered the wife of the church priest and one other person. They also injured many others, razed 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,” the source lamented.
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