On Tuesday morning, two police officers on duty were shot dead by gunmen in Akabo, located in the Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.
Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants also shot a passer-by at a checkpoint in Ama-John junction, Akabo, along the Owerri-Okigwe-Enugu road. The attackers, who struck early in the morning, caught the officers by surprise.
One witness described the scene: “Around 6:00 a.m., there was panic in the Akabo (Ama-John) area along the Owerri-Okigwe-Enugu road. A group of gunmen in a Sienna bus killed two policemen on duty and a passer-by. They quickly fled the scene after the shooting.”
ASP Henry Okoye, the spokesperson for the Imo State Police Command, confirmed the incident. He stated, “The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma, has deployed the Special Tactical Squad with operational resources and intelligence to work with other security agencies to clamp down on the perpetrators of this unprovoked attack.”
According to Okoye, the attack was believed to be carried out by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). The attackers fired sporadically, and despite the operatives’ efforts to defend themselves, two officers and a civilian were fatally wounded.
In response to the attack, CP Aboki Danjuma, along with the Deputy Commissioner of Operations, led police operatives to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment. An intensive operation is underway to apprehend the gunmen responsible for the violence.
The Commissioner of Police has also established a high-powered investigation team to conduct a thorough investigation into the attack.
“The bodies of the fallen officers and the civilian have been recovered and taken to a mortuary for preservation,” Okoye added.
Leave a Reply