THE Anambra State Police Command has stated that an aggressive manhunt has been initiated for armed rebels who entered from a neighboring state and killed two police officers.
Tochukwu Ikenga, the Police Public Relations Officer in Anambra State, said in a statement today that the heinous incident occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. yesterday.
He noted that the gang, who were dressed in military fatigues and appeared to be on a kidnapping mission, were startled when two armed police officers approached them, opening fire on the cops who had pulled ahead of the convoy they were escorting to clear out the congestion.
According to the PPRO, other personnel returned fire, taking care not to hit many people in traffic, causing the criminals to flee.
“Police-led mobile Forward Operating Base which had been on intensive patrol of the entire area throughout Christmas Celebrations promptly responded to the scene. It recovered a Lexus SUV the gang operated with and defused an improvised explosive device found in the vehicle. It also recovered an AK-47 RIFLE belonging to one of the slain personnel”.
According to Ikanga, the Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, who announced that the weekend and Christmas holidays be special working days for all officers and men in the Command, commended the personnel for their hard and courageous efforts in securing the people of Anambra State.
He urged them not to be disheartened by the ultimate cost paid by their colleagues from Enugu State Command, but rather to be inspired by their bravery in confronting the criminal group.
The Commissioner, who expressed condolences to the families of the fallen officers and the Enugu State Police Command and promised that the officers’ deaths would not be in vain, urged the officers and men of the Anambra State Police Command to redouble their efforts and remain watchful.
Assuring that technology would be used to track down the criminals who attacked the police officers, the Commissioner of Police urged the good people of Anambra State not to let the incident scare them away from the various activities planned for the holiday season.
