Four police officers were, on Monday, killed when suspected members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) attacked Awada Police Divisional Headquarters in Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, south-east Nigeria.
The incident happened at about 2:20 a.m.
The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, said three of the suspected IPOB members were killed by the police during the attack.
This is the seventh in a string of attacks on police facilities in the state within one month.
Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said the IPOB members, alongside its militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), in their numbers, attacked the police facility with improvised explosive devices and automatic firearms.
“In response to the attack, police operatives attached to Anambra State police command engaged the assailants jointly with troops from 302 Artillery Regiment of the Nigerian Army in a gun duel and three members of the outlawed IPOB/ESN were fatally wounded,” he said.
The police spokesperson said, during a mop-up operation by police and military personnel, two male suspects, believed to have participated in the attack were arrested by police operatives.
“Regrettably, four police operatives paid the supreme price while a section of the station, one police patrol vehicle and three exhibit vehicles parked in the premises, were set ablaze by petrol bombs thrown into the station by the assailants,” he stated.
Three Kalashnikov rifles, an automatic pump action gun, a brown Lexus 330 SUV, one motorcycle suspected to be stolen property, and charms were among the items recovered from the criminals during the operation, according to the police.
The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Echeng Echeng, has ordered immediate deployment of all the command’s operational and investigative assets to track down the fleeing suspects, Mr Ikenga said.
Mr Echeng appealed to residents of the area and the state to remain calm, assuring that the police in the state would not relent in ensuring that the criminals who carry out attacks were brought to book.
Increased attacks
Like other states in Nigeria’s south-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.
Source: premiumtimesng.com