Two gunmen were killed on Thursday when they attacked a residence of a police inspector in Orogwe, a community in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east. The police spokesperson in the state, Michael Abattam, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, but did not give the name of the police inspector. He said the gunmen jumped the perimeter fence into the inspector’s compound and destroyed his burglary-proof and front door, but the police inspector engaged them in a shootout.
Mr Abattam said the hoodlums fled the scene when they were overpowered by the inspector, but were given “a hot chase.”
“In the process, one of them was neutralised at the spot and others escaped into the surrounding bushes fatally injured,” he said.
The police spokesperson said the inspector quickly alerted the divisional police officer of Ogbaku Division, who deployed more operatives in the area.
“On arrival, they positioned themselves strategically and professionally, combed the surrounding bushes where a corpse, two locally made pistols and an identity card were recovered,” Mr Abattam said.
He said the recovered identity card belonged to one of the slain gunmen identified as Chukwuemezie Chukwu, an electrician, who hailed from Atta in Ikeduru Local Government Area of the state. The incident comes barely three days after gunmen invaded the community and killed seven security guards. Mr Abattam said the gunmen who attacked the inspector were the hoodlums that invaded and killed the seven security guards in the community on Monday.
“Coincidentally, the police inspector lives just a pole away from where the previous attack took place,” he said.
He said the bodies of the gunmen have been evacuated and deposited at the Federal Medical Center, Owerri. He said the police were making “concerted efforts” to track down the fleeing suspects who escaped with bullet wounds. The police spokesperson urged residents of the state to report to the police any person seen treating bullet wounds or hiding within their communities.
Worsening insecurity
Security in Nigeria’s South-east has deteriorated in recent times with frequent attacks by armed persons across the region. Anambra and Imo states have witnessed some of the worst attacks in the region. The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities. The Nigerian government has accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks. The separatist group is leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria. Leader of the secessionist group, Nnamdi Kanu, is detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for terrorism.
