Tension has enveloped Onitsha, Anambra State, following reports that operatives of the state government-backed OCHA Brigade allegedly opened fire at the busy Onitsha Main Market, Emeka Offor Plaza axis, leaving four people dead, including a pregnant woman.

Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, sparking panic and forcing traders and residents to flee the scene.

According to accounts, the victims — ordinary residents out to earn their daily bread — were shot by armed men reportedly working under the authority of the Anambra State Government. The OCHA Brigade, often accused of high-handedness in enforcement operations, is said to have fired sporadically without provocation.

“This is heartbreaking. Four innocent people who left their homes this morning have been cut down in cold blood. Among them is a pregnant woman. Anambra people are now living in fear because criminals have been handed guns and uniforms in the name of government enforcement,” one distraught trader lamented.

The motive behind the gunfire could not be immediately ascertained as of press time.

The development has since fueled outrage, with critics accusing Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of empowering groups they describe as “government thugs” to intimidate and terrorize residents.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Anambra State Government nor the OCHA Brigade has issued an official statement on the incident.