Gun men suspected to be armed robbers on Sunday evening, shot and killed two policemen at Upper Iweka axis of the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State and allegedly made away with the service rifle of one of the policemen.
The incident, according to the source, occurred at about 7.30p.m. when the gunmen on a motorcycle, opened fire on the policemen who were on a stop-and-search duty at the scene of the incident located near the TRACAS Bus Stop at the Upper Iweka axis.
The source hinted that one of the deceased who was identified as Sergeant Ike Anari died on the spot and the gunmen took away his service rifle, while the other who was identified as Inspector Onyia Cyril died later at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, where he was hospitalised shortly after the incident.
The deceased policemen, the source further stated, were attached to Operations, OPS Department of the state police headquarters, Awka, but were posted to Awada Division within the Onitsha metropolis.
As the news of their death filtered into town, policemen on stop-and-search duty in various parts of Anambra State had resorted to compelling okada riders to roll their motorcycles with hand while passing through the checkpoints.
At the popular Nkpor junction where one of the policemen was shot dead by gunmen barely two weeks ago, all the Okada riders were ordered to come down and roll their bikes with hands within a distant radius from the police checkpoint until they would go another distant radius before they climb their bikes again and move.
Efforts to get in touch with the state police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Nkiru Nwode (ASP), proved abortive as she could not be reached on phone, but the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Awada, Mr Babalola and his Divisional Crime Officer, DCO, Amadi, simply confirmed the incident on phone and referred newsmen to appropriate channel for detailed information.