Okoye disclosed that the gunmen threw dynamites at the officers while on security patrol, killing two officers.
The Imo State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed that some gunmen killed two of its officers along old Gariki Road, Okigwe Council Area of the State.
The affected police personnel were attached to Mopol 18, Owerri.
A statement on Saturday by the Command's spokesperson, Henry Okoye, said the hoodlums are alleged to be members of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, an armed affiliate of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Okoye disclosed that the gunmen threw dynamites at the officers while on security patrol, killing two officers.
While he said that four other policemen survived the attack, Okoye said the Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma, condemned the attack and gruesome murder.
“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.
“More so, CP Aboki Danjuma has mandated the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge Okigwe, the DPO, and other Tactical units deployed in Okigwe to embark on visibility patrol, intelligence-led raids of criminal hideouts, and place watertight security to forestall any future occurrence,” Okoye said.
He said that the CP, has appealed to the general public, especially the residents of Okigwe who may have any useful information to assist the command in the investigation by reporting at the nearest police station or via 08034773600, 08103341610.
He assured the residents that police will continue to protect them and advised them to go about their lawful business without any form of fear or intimidation and not panic at the sight of the massive deployment of security operatives in Okigwe.
He urged them to support the Police and other security agencies in the onslaught against violent crimes in the State.