A security guard was feared killed when gunmen razed the headquarters of Nnewi South Local Government Area in Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.

The incident is said to have happened in the early hours of Thursday.

The council headquarters is located at Ukpor community of the state, home town of the First Republic aviation minister, Mbazulike Amaechi.

A resident of the area, Ifeanyichukwu Ezefunamba told PREMIUM TIMES that a security man was killed by the gunmen during the attack.

“It is true. It happened this morning. One person was killed, a security man,” he said of the attack.

A Facebook user, Ugochukwu Nduaguba, believed to be a resident of the area, said the gunmen razed “all the buildings” in the council headquarters.

“It’s terrible. All the buildings are on fire. I pray God to take control,” Mr Nduagha said in response to a Facebook post about the incident.

The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the attack in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Ikenga said the attack was a suspected case of arson. He said the command had deployed police operatives to restore normalcy in the area.

“Fire service has also been contacted. The area has been cordoned off,” the police spokesperson said.

A video clip circulated on various WhatsApp groups, showed a man, said to be the slain security man, lying in a pool of his blood at the entrance of the council headquarters, while a building was engulfed in flames.

The attack is coming 14 days after Governor Charles Soludo announced his administration’s plan to engage in a dialogue with the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other “disparate groups” in order to restore peace and security in Anambra.

IPOB, a group seeking the creation of an independent state of Biafra which they want carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south, has been linked to deadly attacks across the two regions.