Tension in Imo Again as Gunmen Attack Police Station, Kidnap Officer, Free Detained Suspects
- Another police station in Imo state was attacked by gunmen early Thursday morning, April 8
- The gunmen overpowered the policemen on duty, released some detained suspects and kidnapped one officer
- The spokesperson of the Imo state police command, Orlando Ikeokwu, has confirmed the attack
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Some unknown gunmen have struck again in Imo state, attacking the Mbieri police station located in the Mbaitoli local government area in the early hours of Thursday, April 8.
According to The Punch, an indigene of Mbieri said the gunmen released the suspects in custody in the police facility.
The gunmen also took away the phones belonging to suspects and the police operatives at the Divisional, PM News reported.
Source: Twitter
Also, a police source at the division said the gunmen overpowered the policemen on duty who tried to repel the attack.
The police source said:
“We resisted them but they overpowered us. They had more sophisticated weapons."
The source who did not want his name mentioned added that the gunmen also released the suspects in custody.
He added:
"They took all the phones they saw, released the suspects when they gained access and vandalised the police building.”
The source also the attackers kidnapped one police officer and injured two other cops.
Legit.ng gathers that the police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, has confirmed the attack on the police station.
Ikeokwu, however, assured that the police authority in the state had commenced investigation into the attack.
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Earlier, Legit.ng reported that some gunmen on Tuesday, April 6, burnt down the Ehime Mbano local government area divisional police headquarters in Imo state.
The attack came hours after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, visited the state.
On arrival, the gunmen reportedly freed all the suspects in detention before setting the facility ablaze without any resistance from policemen.
Osinbajo and others had visited the state after some unknown gunmen attacked the federal prison and police command headquarters in Owerri, the state capital.
Some inmates in the prison were said to have been broken free by the gunmen while vehicles parked in the vicinity of the facility were set ablaze by the gunmen.
Nigerians react
Sadiq Imam said on Facebook:
"Truely something is amiss; how can these elements of miscreancy and thuggery plaguing innocent citizens and weakened our security architecture; crippled our economic system; disunited our people; we turned to each other with pointing fingures all this happens under the watch of so called democratically elected government.
"Our government must wake up to fight terrorism; banditry; cattle rustling; kidnapping; Bk Haram; IPOB; and Agitators of Yoruba's Oduduwa nation. We must support our government in this critical or difficult situation."
Iroka Chukwudi said:
"See cruise this is a pure political war among politicians.... The government should not blame any group ooo, if you know you know"
Teyjay Xman said:
"But when it comes to extorting innocent people nobody can overpower police in that area, shame on you."
Egwuonwu Nnamdi said:
"This is getting out of hand ohaneze and SE leaders should address this"
Meanwhile, the governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodinma, has claimed that aggrieved politicians sponsored the recent attacks on security facilities in the state.
Governor Uzodinma made the allegation on Wednesday, April 7, while featuring on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme.
The Imo state governor blamed the attacks on aggrieved politicians who wanted to destabilise his government and that of President Muhammadu Buhari.
President Muhammadu Buhari has also ordered relevant agencies of the federal government to end what he called “anarchy” in Imo state.
In a statement posted on his Twitter page on Monday, April 5, a presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the president condemned what he regarded as the “deadly insurgent attack” that took place on the police command Headquarters and the correctional facility in Owerri.
President Buhari called the incident an act of terrorism that must be checkmated at all costs.
Source: Legit.ng
