The Ebonyi State Police Command, Thursday, confirmed the killing of three policemen in Ebonyi State.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Loveth Odah, said the deceased were attached to Safer Highway along Ogoja/ Abakaliki Express road by Nwezenyi junction, and were attacked while they were on stop and search.
She said the attackers disguised themselves as if they were on convoy going for a burial, adding that in in front were 3 motorcycle and behind them were another 3 tricycle while two sienna buses followed them behind.
“On getting to the police checkpoint, they were stopped for a stop and search, immediately, they opened fire on the police officers, killing two officers who were close to the scene.
“Some of our personnel on patrol who were close to the scene on hearing the gunshots rushed to help their other colleagues not knowing that the KEKE NAPEP operators that passed them were among the persons that attacked the police officers”.
“The KEkE NAPEP occupants on getting to where the Police vehicle was parked with one Police Officer at the checkpoint shot and killed the Police Officer and set the Police vehicle that was parked there ablaze. That made them three police officers we lost yesterday”. The other Police officers, we call them the men at sentry shot at them and we believe that they sustained gunshot injuries”, Odah stated
She said that a Police team led by the Deputy Commissioner of police in Charge of Operations has been dispatched to the area on the spot assessment of what happened at the place adding that more details would be known.
She linked the attack to the breakthrough the command recorded last week Thursday being the 8th of April 2021.
She said that on the said date, some Police Officers were at a checkpoint in Umuoghara in Ezza North Local Government Area of the State and through the bush some men opened fire on the police officers. Adding, “But because of the smartness of the Police Officers, they returned the fire and shot at them demobilizing 2 out of the 7 attackers” the PPRO added
She said that the arrested suspects are currently helping the police with useful information.
“We are still trying to know how to get at their colleagues because according to them, they were 7 of them. 2 were shot at though they survived the bullet wounds” .
She called on members of the public to help the Police Command with useful information that would led to the arrest of other members of their gang
This was coming barely one week Police in Ebonyi, also repelled attack by gunmen on Ugbodo police station, Ebonyi local government area of the state.
One of the hoodlums was allegedly killed in a shootout with the police, while one of the police officers, who repelled the attack, was injured and rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Police source who spoke to tabloid, but didn’t want his name on print said the attackers invaded Ugbodo station around 2am on Tuesday but they met stiff resistance.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that a day before the Wednesday incident, police barricaded from Abakaliki Township stadium to Police headquarters Abakaliki, and motorists were turned back on getting to that spot.
This made road users to believe that the police may have gotten hint of the attack but didn’t know that police station wasn’t the target this time.