Gunmen have killed a lecturer of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (NAU, popularly known as UNIZIK) in Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.

The lecturer, Fabian Chinedu, was shot dead on Monday at about 10:10 p.m. along Aroma Junction in Awka, the state capital.

Sources told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday that the attackers attempted to snatch the victim’s car during the attack.

“He resisted and they shot him and drove away with his vehicle,” the source, a food vendor near the area, said.

The police spokesperson Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, also confirmed that the hoodlums made away with the lecturer’s Toyota Corolla vehicle after killing him.

The spokesperson said the police authorities in Anambra State have begun investigations into the killing.

He said the State Police Command has commiserated with the family and friends of the victim, including the management of UNIZIK.

Mr Ikenga said the police authorities have asked Nigerians to support them with any useful information that can aid the ongoing investigation

“The command also urges members of the public who might have seen the vehicle or any abandoned vehicle with similar description to report to the closest police station,” he said.

Like other states in Nigeria’s South-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.

The Nigerian government has repeatedly accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region.

However, the group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.