Gunmen on Saturday, attacked a police patrol vehicle along Old Garaki road, Okigwe in Imo State, killing two officers and injured others.
Confirming the incident to newsmen, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, said the gunmen ambush the security men who were on duty in the area.
Okoye said the attackers threw dynamite on the police vehicle before a gun duel ensued.
“The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP 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). 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.
“On receipt of the ugly incident, the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma alongside Commander Mopol 18 and 64, immediately led operatives of the Command’s Special Tactical Unit to the crime scene for on-the-spot assessment and tasked the operatives to go all out in synergy with other security agencies and hunt down the hoodlums responsible for the attack.
“More so, CP Aboki Danjuma has mandated the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge Okigwe, the DPO, and other Tactical units deployed in Okigwe to embark on visibility patrol, intelligence-led raids of criminal hideouts, and place watertight security to forestall any future occurrence.
“While empathizing with the families, friends, and loved ones of the deceased officers, the Commissioner of Police reiterates in strong terms that the command under his watch would not condone any form of attack on security personnel in the state. He assures them that the Command would leave no stone unturned in ensuring the perpetrators of this dastardly act are all arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law”, the police spokesman stated.
