Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Panic and pandemonium swept through the River Niger Head Bridge in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, when police officers opened fire on civilians during an attempted arrest, leaving two persons with gunshot wounds and triggering hours of chaos that brought commercial activities to a halt along one of the South-East's busiest economic corridors. The shooting, which occurred around noon at the Bridge Head Market area, sent traders, commuters and passersby scrambling for safety as the crack of gunfire echoed across the bridge that connects the South-East to the rest of Nigeria.
The incident unfolded when police officers attached to the Bridge Head Police Division attempted to arrest some suspects in the area. Eyewitnesses told Punch that the confrontation broke out when the officers stopped some individuals for questioning. "In an attempt to arrest them, they resisted the arrest and the police fired some shots at them," one source recounted. The shooting resulted in heavy skirmishes around the Bridgehead Market as people scampered to safety, and the area remained in chaos until the arrival of another batch of police officers. The victims, who sustained gunshot injuries to their legs and hands, were later rushed to a nearby hospital. According to Vanguard, the victims were traders who were allegedly shot after they resisted arrest and attempted to flee while carrying cartons of goods.
But other accounts painted a more troubling picture. The Sun reported that the shooting stemmed from an altercation over an alleged N5,000 bribe, with sources claiming that a trigger-happy policeman shot an apprentice trader over resistance to part with bribe money. The trader was reportedly conveying pharmaceutical products in a wheelbarrow to a motor park when he was accosted by policemen who allegedly target traders at the Ogbogwu drug market for arrest and settlement. In the ensuing scuffle, the policeman allegedly fired at the trader. While the allegation could not be immediately verified, the version of events fuelled outrage among traders, who swiftly barricaded the road in protest, causing a massive traffic gridlock along the busy Onitsha-Awka Expressway. The policeman who carried out the shooting was said to have quickly disappeared from the scene.
The Anambra State Police Command moved swiftly to contain the fallout. The Commissioner of Police, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, personally visited the scene and addressed a large crowd of aggrieved traders, appealing for calm and urging them to allow the investigation to run its course. The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed that the incident occurred when suspects allegedly resisted arrest, resulting in gunshot injuries. "The Commissioner of Police subsequently visited the victims at the hospital, where he assured them of the Command's support and pledged to personally ensure that their medical expenses are covered," Ikenga stated. The CP further ordered a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, particularly the events leading to the discharge of the firearm, stressing that appropriate action would be taken based on its findings.
Ikenga reiterated the command's commitment to professionalism, accountability, respect for human life and the rule of law. Following the commissioner's intervention, traffic and human movement around the Head Bridge area gradually returned to normal, with the police confirming that the free flow of vehicular and human movement had been restored. However, the shooting has cast a long shadow over the Bridge Head Market, a bustling commercial hub that serves as a lifeline for traders across the South-East. For the traders who witnessed the shooting, the incident was a stark reminder of the fragility of their safety in a city where commerce and law enforcement often collide with deadly consequences.
The Anambra State Police Command has yet to identify the officers involved in the shooting, and the investigation is expected to determine whether the use of lethal force was justified or whether the victims were merely caught in the crossfire of an overzealous enforcement operation. As the victims recover from their injuries and the police investigation unfolds, the people of Onitsha are left to grapple with the unsettling reality that even the busiest bridge in the South-East can become a scene of bloodshed in an instant. The question that now hangs over the Bridge Head Market is whether justice will be served, or whether this incident will join the long list of police shootings that have gone unpunished in Nigeria's troubled history of law enforcement impunity.
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