- By Halimah Olamide
At least six operatives of the Nigerian Police have been killed in Imo state after dynamite was thrown into their patrol vehicle at the weekend.
The incident happened at the old Gariki Road Okigwe in Imo State.
The personnel of MOPOL 18, Owerri were ambushed while on patrol duty in the early hours of Saturday.
The gunmen suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate Eastern Security Network (ESN) reportedly threw dynamite on the police patrol vehicle.
They reportedly later engaged them in a gunfight.
Two personnel were killed while four others sustained multiple injuries.
“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)”, Imo Police spokesman, Henry Okoye said.
Okoye explained that, “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.”
This is coming a week after 12 soldiers were ambushed and killed in Okuoma village in Delta state.
President Bola Tinubu has said that his government will not allow men of the armed forces to come to attacks.