Police Blame IPOB, ESN As Two Officers Killed In Imo Ambush

On Saturday morning, suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, ambushed and killed two police officers in Okigwe, Imo State.

The officers, who were part of the MOPOL 18 unit based in Owerri, were conducting routine patrol duties along Old Gariki Road in Okigwe Local Government Area when the assailants attacked.

The gunmen allegedly threw explosives at the patrol vehicle, resulting in the death of two officers, while four others survived the assault.

Imo State Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, swiftly condemned the attack, vowing that the command would not tolerate any form of violence against security personnel under his watch.

Danjuma, accompanied by the Commanders of Mopol 18 and 64, visited the crime scene to assess the situation.

He directed the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Okigwe to intensify visibility patrols, conduct intelligence-led raids on potential criminal hideouts, and reinforce security measures to prevent similar occurrences.

A statement by the Imo Police Command’s spokesperson, said: “The officers were ambushed in the early hours of today, 23/03/2024 while on patrol duties along old Gariki Road Okigwe by the disgruntled elements who threw dynamite on the officer’s patrol vehicle and engaged them in a protracted gunfight. In the process, two officers paid the ultimate price while four others survived the attack.

“On receipt of the ugly incident, the Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma alongside Commander Mopol 18 and 64, immediately led operatives of the Command’s Special Tactical Unit to the crime scene for on-the-spot assessment and tasked the operatives to go all out in synergy with other security agencies and hunt down the hoodlums responsible for the attack.”