Lawyers in Anambra State on Monday boycotted courts in the area.They marched to Government House from the Judiciary Headquarters, Awka (about one and a half kilometers) to protest the spate of killings in the state by gunmen.

They stated that one of their members, Frank Onwuachi, was kidnapped and killed in recent terror attacks on the state.

No fewer than six policemen, four naval officers, two prison guards and others had been killed in the state within a week.

Four police stations and several security formations in the state had also been attacked, patrol vehicles burnt, while arms and ammunition were carted away by hoodlums.

The situation, the state governor, Willie Obiano, said in a state broadcast on Sunday, had made him to call for a reinforcement of security personnel from the Army, Police, and the Directorate of State Services.

Protesting on Monday, the legal practitioners under the aegis of Committee of Chairmen and Secretaries of the Nigerian Bar Association decried the high rate of insecurity in the area.

The lawyers said they would boycott courts in the state for three days as part of their grievances over the killing of their members and others in the state.

Speaking, the chairman of the Onitsha bar, Onyechi Ononye, said lawyers in the state could no longer go to court freely due to the high rate of insecurity in the state.

He called on the governor to deploy security operatives to courts and other parts of the state to secure lives and property.

“Our member was kidnapped and killed the other day. Some security formations were attacked and operatives were killed while their weapons were carted away,” Ononye added.

Responding on behalf of the state governor, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, described the situation as saddening and alarming, but added that government was on top of the situation.

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