Gunmen have fatally attacked four police officers in Imo State, South-East Nigeria.
According to reports, the incident took place around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 29, on the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Owerri, the state capital.
As reported by Premium Times, Tony Onwumelu, a local shop owner, while narrating the incident said that the assailants targeted the officers at their checkpoint in the area.
Onwumelu said:
“Yes, the gunmen targeted the police officers at their checkpoint near Blossom Hotel, resulting in the deaths of four officers.
“They also fired at bystanders, killing a woman who operated a POS at the junction. She was shot at close range.”
Gunmen may be enforcing sit-at-home order
Another anonymous witness suggested that the attackers were likely enforcing the illegal sit-at-home order due to their method of operation, TheCable reported.
He said:
“They not only killed the police officers but also shot at random people as if they were trying to force everyone to stay indoors.”
Furthermore, the resident expressed concern over the recent surge in gunmen attacks in the area.
IPOB carried out the attack, Police react
Henry Okoye, the police spokesperson in Imo State, confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday.
He attributed the attack to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to Okoye, the operatives were ambushed during a routine patrol on the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway at Irete.
Mr Okoye reported that the Commissioner of Police in Imo, Aboki Danjuma, has condemned the killings of both the police operatives and the civilian, calling it a “heinous crime.”
The spokesperson added that the police commissioner has dispatched the command’s Tactical Units, equipped with all available operational resources and intelligence, to collaborate with other security agencies in a concerted effort to apprehend the perpetrators of the attack.
