Two policemen serving at the Enugu State Police Command have been killed by gunmen.
Saturday reports gathered that the gunmen attacked policemen attached to the Distress Response Squad at a checkpoint along Agbani Road on Thursday night, killing two police officers and setting a patrol vehicle ablaze.
The spokesperson for the command, Daniel Ndukwe, said the attack was carried out by suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network.
“The criminal elements suddenly opened fire on the police team without provocation. The operatives responded promptly, forcing the assailants to flee with varying degrees of gunshot injuries.
During the exchange of gunfire, the police operational vehicle was engulfed in flames, while two officers sustained critical gunshot wounds. They were rushed to a hospital for urgent medical care but were later pronounced dead by attending medical personnel,” Ndukwe said in a statement on Friday.
The police spokesperson added that the state Commissioner of Police, Mamman Giwa, ordered an “intensified manhunt for the suspects”, directing tactical and intelligence units to track them down and ensure their arrest.
“The Commissioner has charged operatives to deploy all available resources and leverage actionable intelligence to sustain the trail and ensure that the fleeing assailants are arrested and brought to justice,” Ndukwe said.
