ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Two police officers were gunned down on Sunday in Okigwe, Imo State, after unidentified assailants launched a deadly ambush on a police patrol team, Vanguard reports.
The slain officers were attached to Mopol 18 in Owerri and were reportedly stationed near the old Gariki area when the gunmen struck.
According to eyewitness accounts, while two officers died on the spot, others sustained injuries but managed to flee the scene.
Confirming the attack, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, ASP Henry Okoye, described the incident as “very unfortunate” and revealed that investigations and operations to apprehend the perpetrators were already underway.
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Okoye said, “The incident that happened in Okigwe is a very unfortunate one.
“The Commissioner of Police, Imo State, CP Aboki Danjuma, has strongly condemned the attack and gruesome murder of two of our personnel. These officers, attached to Mopol 18 Owerri, were deployed on routine patrol duty.”
ASP Okoye further disclosed that CP Danjuma, alongside the Commander of Mopol 18 and other senior officers, had visited the crime scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
“We have deployed tactical teams and charged them to go all out, in synergy with the military, to hunt down the hoodlums responsible for this senseless act of violence,” he added.
The brutal attack has heightened fear among residents, with growing concerns about the increasing spate of targeted assaults on security personnel in the region. Locals are now calling on authorities to urgently bolster security measures to protect both officers and civilians. residents, with growing concerns about the increasing spate of targeted assaults on security personnel in the region.
Locals are now calling on authorities to urgently bolster security measures to protect both officers and civilians.