By our reporter/ Suspected members of the the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday reportedly killed four officers attached to the Police Area Command in Nnewi, Anambra State.
According to sources, the gunmen stormed the Police Area Command on Monday afternoon and engaged the security operatives in a fierce gunfight.
The gun duel with the assailants – who came to the police facility in about seven vehicles lasted for more than one hour.
This caused pandemonium among residents in the area who scampered to safety.
According to an eyewitness account, the gunmen overpowered the security operatives and carted away with some of their arms.
A reinforcement from the Nigerian Navy arrived late as the had left by the time of their arrival.
The military operatives were said to have gone after them but to no avail.
The attack is believed to be a reprisal for the killing of two suspected members of the proscribed group on Sunday morning.
Also speaking on the incident, a resident of the area who didn’t want to be named, told NAN that they heard heavy gunshots around the area command at about 2pm on Monday.
“We gathered that the shooting was between suspected unknown gunmen and police at Nnewi police area command and that caused pandemonium among the residents of Nnewi community,” the resident said.
The source added that the gunmen came in about seven vehicles to the police station and started shooting for over one hour.
The resident also claimed that the gunmen carted away arms at the station, adding that by the time reinforcement from a combined team of security agencies arrived, the attackers had left.
Tochukwu Ikenga, the police public relations officer (PPRO), confirmed the development to NAN in Awka, the Anambra capital, on Monday.
The development comes amid a sit-at-home order by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
IPOB had said it would enforce a lockdown every Monday, from August 9, in the south-east until its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is released.
According to Ikenga, operatives successfully repelled the attackers who came in vehicles in the afternoon.
He said the police and other security agencies are currently at the command to ensure the situation is under control.
Since the beginning of the year, dozens of police facilities, including a state police command have come under attack in the South East.
This has led to the death of several police officers with many others injured.
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