Gunmen on Saturday killed two policemen at Old Garki Road, Okigwe local government area in Imo State.
The police personnel were said to have been ambushed while on patrol duties along the road.
In a statement issued Saturday in Owerri by the Command’s Spokesman, Henry Okoye, the gunmen reportedly threw dynamite on the officers’ patrol vehicle and engaged them in protracted gunfire.
Okoye said that the hoodlums were suspected to be members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, Eastern Security Network (ESN).
He said: “The officers were ambushed in the early hours of Saturday, 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.”
Okoye said that on receipt of the ugly incident, the Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, 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.
“The 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.”
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He called on the general public particularly the residents of Okigwe who may have any useful information that will assist the Police in the investigation to kindly report at the nearest Police Station while he urged the residents to go about their lawful business without any form of fear or intimidation and not panic at the sight of the massive deployment of security operatives in Okigwe.
He urged them to support the Police and other security agencies in the onslaught against violent crimes in the state.
While sympathising with the families, friends, and loved ones of the deceased officers, the Commissioner of Police reiterated in strong terms that the Command under his watch would not condone any form of attack on security personnel in the state.
He assured 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.
