Gunmen attack Police Division, Council headquarters, kill officer, security guards

Unidentified gunmen early hours of Wednesday attacked and destroyed facilities of the Obowo Police Division in Obowo Council Area of Imo state.

This was according to an eyewitness who spoke to Vanguard in Owerri.

He also said the same gunmen had allegedly killed a resident said to be a police officer, at NEPA bus stop in the same Obowo LGA, last Tuesday night.

Also, in another development, an eyewitness, a resident of Isiala Mbano Local Government of Imo state, said: “The secretariat of the Isiala Mbano council Area was attacked and set ablaze including vehicles and some buildings by hoodlums and many were injured. We heard two members of the vigilante group were killed, during a gun battle between the security operatives and hoodlums.”

Narrating how the incident happened, while he pleaded not to mention his name for security purposes, the eyewitness said: “This young police officer was killed at NEPA bus stop where he is residing. It happened by 8 pm on Tuesday. The gunmen came and spent more than forty-five minutes in that house. They took their time to identify who is a student and a police officer in that compound before killing him after identifying he was a police officer.”

“He was slaughtered. But we have a military presence in the same Obowo and three Police formations in the area. None of them came to the rescue of this officer. After 1 hour, and 30 minutes the military came and not the police. This sad.

“This happened in a place where we have area command, Ishinweke Police Division and Obowo Police Division. They still returned this early morning and burnt down the police division,” he said.

Reacting, the Imo state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Henry Okoye, said: “The Command has deployed tactical teams to apprehend those responsible for this crime.”