Gunmen attack Anambra police station, kill two operatives

Some yet-to-be-identified assailants on Monday attacked the Umunze Police Station in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Some sources and residents in the area said the assailants stormed the police facility in the early hours of Monday, shooting severally into the air before forcefully gaining entrance into the premises.

According to the sources, during the attack, some police officers were shot dead as the assailants caught them unawares while some parts of the premises were set ablaze using improvised explosive devices.

One of the eyewitnesses said, “The masked hoodlums shot severally into the air as they marched towards the gate of the police premises. It happened early this morning and it was the gunshots that woke the neighbourhood and sent panic into the area.

“They shot and injured some police officers as they forcefully entered the premises. The incident happened within a short space of time, they burnt some parts of the building and were about to cause more mayhem before the attack was repelled in an exchange of gunfire by the officers on duty, after which the hoodlums escaped back into their hideouts.”

The latest attack is coming less than a month after some gunmen attacked the Oba Police Divisional Headquarters and Oba Civic Centre, in Idemili South LGA of the state, during which a police corporal was killed and several others injured. The facility was also set ablaze.

The Spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a statement, saying the police have launched a manhunt on the fleeing assailants.

Ikenga said, “The Joint Security Forces comprising of the Police, Army, Navy, Civil defence and other security agencies recovered five unexploded improvised explosives and are on the trail of the arsonists and armed secessionist group members, who in the early hours of today 16/9/2024 attacked the Umunze Police Station.

“The suspected armed proscribe group invaded the police facility with improvised explosives, shooting sporadically and fire caught part of the station.

“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.”

He added that the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Nnaghe Itam, had visited the scene, for an on-the-spot assessment to reinforce and reassess security deployment.

“The CP calls on anyone who has any information that will aid the investigation to come forward. He also assures utmost confidentiality to any such information in this regard, please,” Ikenga added.