Police hunt killers of two cops in Anambra station attack

The Anambra Police Command said it had launched a manhunt on the gunmen who executed the Monday attack on the Umunze Police Station in the Orumba South Local Government Area of the state.

Some yet-to-be-identified assailants attacked the police facility in the early hours of Monday, using explosives and firearms to set the facility on fire and also killing two policemen on duty.

The state police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who reacted in a statement, blamed the attack on armed secessionists, who emerged from their hideouts to perpetrate the dastardly act.

Some sources and residents in the area, who spoke to our correspondent, on the condition of anonymity, said the assailants stormed the police facility, shooting several times into the air before forcefully gaining entry into the premises.

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

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

“They shot and injured some police officers. Some officers were killed in a hot exchange of gunfire as they tried to resist the hoodlums from gaining entry. The incident happened within a short space of time, the hoodlums were about to cause further mayhem before they were overpowered by the officers on duty, after which they escaped to their hideouts.

“We learnt the hoodlums were trying to force a release of one of their members who is being detained at the facility. It is unfortunate what happened to the slain officers, there  is a need for the security operatives to step up their operations through the use of technology and intelligence gathering.”

The latest attack is coming less than a month after some gunmen similarly 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.

Speaking further, Ikenga said a manhunt had been launched on the fleeing assailants and a clearance operation on the identified camp of the criminal was ongoing in the area.

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 (Monday) 16/9/2024  attacked the Umunze Police Station.

“The suspected proscribed armed 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, 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 the public of utmost confidentiality to any such information in this regard, please,” Ikenga added.