Gunmen kill 12 policemen in fresh attacks

In what appears to have become commonplace onslaught on security personnel across the country, no fewer than 12 policemen were, at the weekend, killed in two separate attacks on police formations in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states. 

The attacks, which happened on Friday night and Saturday, also saw the wife of one of the policemen killed, with some assault rifles were carted away by the attackers who also just burnt police patrol vehicles. 

The latest casualty figures bring to 53, the number of policemen killed in such attacks in the last seven weeks in South-East and SouthSouth regions. 

The Police Public Relations Officer for the Akwa Ibom State Command, SP Odiko MacDon, confirmed that gunmen attacked a Divisional Police headquarters at Ini Local Government Area of the state and killed six policemen and the wife of one of them. 

The corpses of the slain policemen, according to him, have been evacuated and deposited in the mortuary. 

The state Commissioner of Police, Eboka Friday, who led members of his management team and tactical commanders to the scenes of the attack, has since launched a manhunt for the attackers. 

According to the PPRO, “It is pertinent to note that in all the three attacks carried out last night, no police station/formation was burnt. Regrettably, a total of five assault rifles were lost in the incident.” 

Similarly, police spokesperson in Rivers State Command, Nnamdi Omoni, while confirming the incident, said there were three different attacks on policemen at a checkpoint and two police stations in Emohua and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas of the state. 

Omoni said two policemen were killed in the attack at police checkpoint and a private car belonging to one of them burnt. He explained further that two other policemen on duty were killed at Rumuji Police Station with their patrol vehicle burnt, just as two of the gunmen were said to have been fatally wounded on the spot by policemen who resisted an attempt by the gunmen to enter the police formation.

“In the third attack at Elimgbu Police Station, they were equally resisted by the police. Though three officers were killed in that attack, the serious fire engagement made them abandon their bullet-riddled Hilux van, while they escaped with various degrees of gunshot wounds with a snatched Sienna bus. An unsigned online report purportedly issued from the office of the chairman, Ini Local Government Area, Mr Israel Idaisin, claimed that the invasion was from the men of Eastern Security Network (ESN), a paramilitary security outfit in the East. The report indicated that several vehicles and facilities were destroyed during the attack, in addition to the six persons killed by the gunmen. 

“The gunmen, who came in two buses and a Sienna car filled with armed men numbering more than 40, arrived Ini Local Government Area with sophisticated weapons, broke into the police facility at precisely 2:45 a.m, killing five policemen on duty, burning vehicles while inflicting injuries on others.” 

Some police officers who attempted to repel the gunmen were said to have been overrun. The chairman, according to the statement, commended the youths of the council area who he said were proactive in raising the alarm which helped to reduce the number of casualties. 

“I urge the people to stay calm as we are working with relevant security agencies and the government of Akwa Ibom state to ensure that the situation is contained and necessary modalities are being put in place to forestall a recurrence. There is no cause for fear as the culprits will be brought to book in no distant time,” the statement read. 

41 policemen killed in 7 weeks 

Under seven weeks, about 41 policemen have been killed in several attacks on police formations across the South-East and South-South zones, with many others sustaining lethal injuries. 

Similarly, many of the police stations which came under attacks from gunmen were burnt along with their patrol vehicles and other facilities. Checks by Sunday Tribune revealed that in Anambra State, 10 policemen were killed in four separate attacks between March 19 and May 7, including the attack on the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Charles Soludo, during a political meeting. Four naval men were also killed in the state by gunmen. In Imo State, where a couple of police formations and a prison facility have equally been attacked, six policemen were killed within two weeks. 

The tale of policemen’s death was also recorded in Abia and Enugu states where three and two policemen respectively were killed in different attacks. In Ebonyi State, between April 15 and May 6, no fewer than four policemen were gunned down in an attack on security operatives. 

The story is not different in the South-South zone where 14 policemen were killed in Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers states between February 25 and May 1.

 

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Nigeria Is Where It Is Now Due To Leadership Of Family, Friends, Acquaintances Rather Than Ability To Deliver ― Jonathan

Former President of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has opined that Nigeria is where it is today because of leadership of family and friends, acquaintances rather than ability and capability to deliver.

I Slept With My 12-Yr-Old Daughter Because My Wife Is No Longer Attractive To Me, Man Tells Police

A 49-year-old man, Ubong Akpan, is now in net of the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly having carnal knowledge of his 12-year-old daughter.

Cryptocurrency: Understanding The Craze, Threat

ON Friday, February 6, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rocked the boat with a circular that inadvertently highlighted how popular cryptocurrency transactions have become among Nigerians in recent years, judging by… 

After Two Years, Daddy Freeze Apologises To Bishop Oyedepo
Daddy Freeze whose real name is Ifedayo Olarinde has apologised to Bishop Oyedepo who is the presiding bishop and founder of Living Faith Church aka Winners Chapel…