23rd March, 2024
Gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network have killed at two police officers wwhen they attacked their patrol vehicle along old Gariki Road, Okigwe in Imo State.
The gunmen who reportedly engaged the police in a long firefight in the incident which happened in the early hours of Saturday, blew up the patrol vehicle of the cops by throwing a dynamite at it. The police personnel who were attached to MOPOL 18, Owerri were actually ambushed while on patrol duty.
Two officers were killed while four others sustained multiple injuries in the encounter.
Imo Police Command spokesman, Henry Okoye who confirmed the incident, 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).
“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.”
According to him the Police Commissioner and the 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 said the Imo POlice boss had ordered a hunt down of the attackers.