Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has commiserated with the Delta Police Command and families of police officers killed by gunmen in Anambra.

The State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, who briefed newsmen on the issue on Saturday in Asaba, said the officers were ambushed and killed around 1.30p.m on Friday on Ihiala-Orlu Road enroute Umuahia while on official duty.

He gave the names of the killed officers as  Inspectors Lucky Aleh; Celestine Nwadiokwu and Jude Obuh who were  attached to the Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Unit in Government House, Asaba.

He said the late officers would be greatly missed for their contributions to the peace and development of Delta.

Aniagwu described the unfortunate killing of the officers as barbaric and unacceptable in a country seeking to be united again for peace and development.

“We bring you the sad news of our very gallant officers who have helped us in maintaining peace in our state attached to the Explosives Ordinance Disposal EOD Unit in Government House, Asaba.

“The officers met their untimely death while they were proceeding as advanced team for the PDP National Campaign Rally in Abia.

“Unfortunately this particular team veered off from the convoy and took another route different from where the convoy was taking.

“They were ambushed along the Ihiala-Orlu Road enroute Umuahia by non-state actors who eventually killed three of them in police  uniform while the one on mufti escaped.

“We have recovered their corpse and we have also reached out to their families,” he said.

He said that some accounts of the unfortunate incident trending on social media was untrue.

He said that the state government delayed announcing their untimely death because efforts were being made to reach out to their families before making the announcement.

Aniagwu called on security agencies in the country to fish out the killers and bring them to book so that Nigerians can once again live peacefully in any part of the country.

“What is happening in parts of this country today, particularly in the South East, is not  healthy for our development as a country because the elections are very very close.

“The security we are asking for are not just for the purpose of the elections. It is also something that everybody wants. We should be able to have security at every given time; that way, we would have development.

“We must also plead with our brothers and sisters who may have taken guns on the account of what they see as agitation to know that the best way to help our people is to allow peace to reign,” he said.

According to him, that way, development will take place in the South East.

“Our people in the South East are very, very industrious, they are commerce oriented and have developed love for one another over the years.

“We will plead with these our brothers to allow this kind of love that permeated the atmosphere in the time past in the South East, to continue to pervade that environment.

“That way, they are able to ensure that government will bring development to them and also able to ensure that private sector investments would thrive,” he said.

According to him, it is unfortunate that these our gallant officers, just like many others have also lost their lives in the past, have lost their lives on account of the activities of individuals who describe themselves today as ‘unknown gunmen’.

“We are pleading with them to sheath their swords and begin to allow that love of which the people of the South East have been known for over the years, so that as a people, we will continue to coexist.

“We pray the good Lord Almighty to accept the souls of these our loved ones, three of them that have passed on due to no fault of theirs.

“We also pray that God gives their families the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss; even as we seek justice on their behalf, both as a government, as a state and as a people,” he said.

He asked their immediate families to take heart.

“Only God understands situations like this and we know that God will not allow them die in vain because it was in the course of duty and service to our dear country.

“But even if it was not in the course of duty, nobody deserves to die the way these brothers have been killed.

“As a government in Delta, we will be with their families in this their trying moments.

“We will also take steps to seek justice on their behalf by impressing it upon security agencies to take steps to unravel those who have caused  this pain that is in our heart today,” Aniagwu said.