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A potentially volatile situation was defused on Sunday when Imo State police foiled an attack on the Njaba Local Government Area Divisional Police headquarters in Umuakah. Officers reacted promptly, repelling the attackers and safeguarding the facility. The police command has confirmed the incident and underscored its commitment to protecting the community.
Speaking on Monday, ASP Henry Okoye, the command’s spokesperson, confirmed that three of the suspects were handled during what he described as a smooth defensive operation.
In his statement, Okoye noted that the attackers, driving three SUVs, initiated a violent assault on the headquarters, firing their weapons in bursts.
“In response, the ever gallant operatives swiftly took up defensive positions and engaged the assailants, resulting in the neutralisation of three attackers.
“The remaining assailants, who sustained various gunshot injuries, fled into nearby bushes.
“During the operation, our forces recovered one General Purpose Machine Gun, one AK-47 rifle, and three vehicles: a Toyota Lexus 470, a Mercedes GLK, and a Toyota Venza,” the spokesman disclosed.
Okoye mentioned that a vigorous operation, spearheaded by the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, Mr. Aboki Danjuma, is ongoing to capture the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice.
Acknowledging Danjuma’s praise for the operatives’ bravery, the spokesman reassured the public that the command is focused on further enhancing the state’s internal security.
“The command will continue to take decisive actions against any threats to public peace,” he said.
In a separate incident on Monday, hoodlums assaulted a police station in Umunze, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, leaving behind five unexploded improvised explosive devices and killing two police officers.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Tochukwu Ikenga said the Command have recovered from the scene of gunmen attack unexploded improvised devices.
Read also: Two Officers Dead As Gunmen Attack Police Station In Anambra
The statement read in part, “Suspected Arms proscribed group attacked Umunze police station in the early hours of Monday.
“The arsonists invaded the Police facility with the improvised explosives, shooting sporadically, killing two of the police officers on duty, while some parts of the station also caught fire.”
While noting that Joint Security Forces comprising the Police, Army, Navy, Civil Defence, and other security agencies, who recovered five unexploded improvised explosives at the scene are currently on the trail of the arsonists, the PPRO revealed that the State Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam had visited the scene for on-the-spot assessment.
The statement added, “Unfortunately, two of the Police Operatives on duty during the gun battle in a bid to resist the assailants from causing more havoc, paid the supreme price. Their bodies have been recovered and taken to the morgue.
“Also, the Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, visited the scene on a spot assessment to reinforce and reassess security deployment,.
“He called on anyone who has any information that will aid the investigation to come forward. He also assured utmost confidentiality to any such information in this regard.”
