No fewer than two policemen attached to MOPOL 18, Owerri lost their lives when gunmen attacked their patrol vehicle along old Gariki Road Okigwe in Imo State on Saturday.
The officers were ambushed and attacked in Owerri while on patrol duty.
The gunmen suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra and its affiliate, Eastern Security Network, reportedly threw dynamite on the officers’ patrol vehicle and engaged them in a protracted gunfight.
It was gathered that four others sustained multiple injuries during the incident.
The state police spokesman, Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident.
He said, “The officers were ambushed in the early hours of today, 23/03/2024 while on patrol duties along old Gariki Road Okigwe by the disgruntled elements who threw dynamite on the officer’s patrol vehicle and engaged them in a protracted gunfight.
“In the process, two officers paid the ultimate price while four others survived the attack.”
Okoye said the state Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, condemned the attack.
He said, “The state Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, has condemned the attack and gruesome murder of personnel of Mopol 18, Owerri, by gunmen suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate Eastern Security Network (ESN). ”
He added that the Commissioner with Commander MOPOL 18 and 64, immediately led operatives of the Command’s Special Tactical Unit to the crime scene for on-the-spot assessment.
He stated further that the officers were tasked to collaborate with other security agencies and hunt down the hoodlums responsible for the attack.
This attack is coming barely a week after a Nigerian Army commander, three officers, and 12 soldiers were ambushed and killed in Delta State.
The soldiers, serving with the 181 Amphibious Battalion, were said to be on a peace-keeping mission to quell community clashes in Bomadi Local Government of Delta State when they were killed.
