Gun battle in Edo: 3 policemen, one gunman shot dead

By Jethro Ibileke

Three mobile policemen attached to Igarra division of Edo State Command were shot dead in a fierce gun battle with unknown gunmen.

Another policeman was also seriously injured by the gunmen.

One of the assailants also died of gunshots while another who sustained gunshot wounds has been taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment and interrogation.

The gun battle reportedly occurred between 5:30 and 6 am on Thursday.

The policemen were resuming at their duty post near the popular Agor market, along the Igarra-Auchi Road, where they usually mount roadblock before they were attacked by the gunmen.

The checkpoint was reportedly established to check activities of kidnappers who comb farm settlements in the area for kidnapping and ransom collection.

It was gathered that while the policemen were driving in their car and another one was riding on a motorcycle behind the vehicle when the assailants who had apparently laid ambush opened fire on them.

However, the policeman on motorcycle was said to have engaged the assailants who fled into the bush with the four rifles of the policemen they shot.

Following the attack, men of the local vigilante were called for reinforcement. They later combed the bush and traced the assailants to their hideout, where they recovered the four police rifles and another two belonging to the attackers.

The head of the local vigilante group in the area, Ibukun Dogo, while narrating the incident, said: “I got a call from the DPO around 6 am that his men were attacked and we quickly mobilized to the place and saw the lifeless bodies of the three officers.

“We saw blood markings on the ground into the bush and we trailed that blood stains to a hideout of the suspects where we met two of them with gunshot injuries, one died from the gunshots while the other was taken away by the police to the hospital.

“We recovered the four police rifles and additional two in the area we found them.

“The suspect said they are from Okene, in Kogi State, but we don’t know their mission whether it is armed robbery or kidnapping they wanted to use the arms and ammunition for.”

When contacted, the State Police Command spokesman, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said the Command was yet to get the details of what happened.