…Officer’s wife also murdered,
Patrol vehicles burnt, rifles carted away …Wike cries: We won’t succumb to secessionist agenda …34 deaths in 14 days.
In the last 24 hours, no fewer than 12 police men lost their lives to the ongoing attacks on security personnel and formations in the South-East and South-South regions. The separate incidents, which had the imprints of previous attacks, saw gun[1]men attacking the personnel at their duty posts in the early hours of the day. By Clever Advertising In Akwa Ibom, gunmen attacked the Divisional Po[1]lice Headquarters, located in Odoro Ikpe village, Ini Local Government Area, LGA, killing five policemen on duty. Seven were shot dead in Rivers State. Rattled Governor Nyesom Wike called an emergency meeting to discuss the killings but said no amount of intimidation will cause Rivers to succumb to secessionist agenda. It was gathered that the Akwa Ibom attackers struck at about 2 45am yesterday. The incident happened exactly one week after hoodlums attacked Ikono Police Divisional Headquarters where they killed two police[1]men.
The latest attack brought the total number of police[1]men killed in May alone in the state to seven. A policeman’s wife was also killed in the attack that saw the gunmen, setting patrol vehicles ablaze. According to sources in the area, the attackers stormed the police station in two buses and a Sienna bus. Severe injuries A statement by the Chair[1]man of the LGA, Mr. Israel Idais, said some police officers also sustained severe injuries during the attack. Idais commended youths of the LGA for raising the alarm, saying it helped re[1]duce the number of casual[1]ties recorded. The statement obtained by Sunday Vanguard reads: “The gunmen who came in two buses and a Sienna car filled with armed men numbering more than 40, arrived in Ini Local Government Area with sophisticated weapons, broke into the police facility at precisely 2:45 am, killed five policemen on duty, burnt vehicles and inflicted injuries on others. “Some police officers who attempted to repel the gun[1]men were overrun.
I urge the good people of Ini LGA to stay calm as we are working with relevant security agencies and the government of Akwa Ibom State to ensure that the situation is contained. “Necessary modalities are being put in place to fore[1]stall a reoccurrence. There is no cause for fear as the culprits will be brought to book in no distant time”. The Public Relations Officer, PRO, of Akwa Ibom State Police Command, Mr. Odiko MacDon, confirmed the attack. He said he was at the scene of the incident for an on-the spot assessment. “Yes, there was an attack at the Divisional Police Headquarters, Odoro Ikpe, in Ini Local Government Area. Six persons including five officers and a wife of an officer were killed. I am at the station as we speak,” he said. Seven cops in Rivers In Rivers, facts emerged on how gunmen killed about seven policemen.
The attackers had, at about 10 pm, Friday, murdered the policemen at different points in two LGAs. They were said to have attacked Rumuji Police Di[1]visional Headquarters in Emohua and Elimgbu Police Station in Obio/Akpor LGA. The gunmen also attacked two security check[1]points, C4i Security Formation on East-West Road and another at Ogbakiri Junction in the same Emohua LGA. Sunday Vanguard learned the gunmen burnt patrol vehicles and carted away over eight rifles belonging to the police. A police source said the hoodlums wore mobile police uniforms. They also drove patrol vehicles to the scenes. A police source said an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, and an Inspector were killed at the C4i Checkpoint in Emohua.
Two AK47 rifles were said to have been snatched from them while a patrol van was set ablaze. Beheaded At Rumuji Police Division[1]al Headquarters, gunmen beheaded their victims after killing them. A Special Constabulary sustained in[1]juries. At the station, the invaders snatched two Ak47 rifles and set ablaze a patrol van before they were repelled by soldiers, making them abandon their Hilux van.
Four rifles were said to have been stolen from the station. Meanwhile, Rivers State Police Command has launched a manhunt for the attackers. Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP. Nnamdi Omoni, in a statement, yesterday, issued after the Commissioner of Police in the state, Friday Eboka, and heads of tactical units, visited the different scenes of crime, said the attackers were met with stiff resistance. Omoni said: “The Rivers State Police Command can confirm the unprovoked and mindless attack on policemen and vehicles. “The incident which led to the death of seven policemen occurred last night at about 2030hrs, where un[1]known gunmen driven in two branded Hilux vans, attacked the special check[1]point at Choba Bridge, where in a surprised attack, killed two policemen on duty and set ablaze a private car belonging to one of the policemen. “A similar attack was launched at Rumuji Police Station by the same hoodlums who killed two police[1]men on duty and burnt a patrol vehicle.
