THREE persons, including two police officers, have been killed and then set ablaze by gunmen at Amukabia, Achalla, Awka South Local Government Area.
The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement today.
He said the slain officers were among a six- man police team who had gone to recover a Toyota Sienna Space Wagon vehicle earlier snatched by the hoodlums.
He said the gunmen snatched the vehicle at a gun point on July 9 in Oye-Agu Abagana, a community in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.
The officers had embarked on the operation, accompanied by an expert in car-tracking, but were ambushed by the gunmen who captured the two officers and the car tracker, Ikenga said.
The police spokesperson said police operatives killed some of the gunmen and destroyed three of their camps during a counter operation on Friday.
“Unfortunately, some of the hoodlums escaped with bullet wounds, having already murdered their captives and set their bodies ablaze,” he said.
He said the remains of the slain officers and the civilian have been recovered and deposited in a morgue.
One human skull, a locally made rocket propelled grande RPG launcher, two (RPG) bombs, one single-barrel long gun, empty chain of bullet, one Toyota Sienna and one Mercedes Benz SUV, were among the items recovered from the gunmen, according to the police.
Others are: two cylinders, a huge quantity of hard drugs, a police beret and a police belt.
He said the police have begun an operation to track down the fleeing suspects.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Echeng Echeng, has condoled with the families of the slain civilian and the two police operatives, Ikenga said.
Echeng described the incident as a “classic example of the risk and sacrifices” the police are exposed to in the task of serving and protecting the country.
