Gunmen kill policemen in attack at Imo checkpoint

At a checkpoint at Okpala Junction in the Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, gunmen once again ambushed and killed a number of police officers.

The incident, which happened on Saturday, caused a lot of residents to leave their homes and places of business, causing the neighbourhood to become uneasy.

Although the state's police have verified that two officers died in the incident, many have claimed that seven officers were shot and killed.

According to information obtained by our correspondent, the gunmen initially opened fire on the policeman, killing some of them.

A source said “About seven policemen at a checkpoint along Aba Road, Okpala, gunned down by unknown gunmen earlier this morning.

“Police have stationed a massive checkpoint now at Okpala Junction. It is very unfortunate.”

When contacted, the police spokesman for the command, Henry Okoye, said that only two policemen “paid the supreme price.”

He told our correspondent in a telephone conversation that the gunmen were engaged in a gun duel by “the vigilant policemen on duty.”

He added that the police had found the vehicle, which had blood traces, after the gunmen abandoned one of the working vehicles they had arrived in.

Okoye claimed that the command's operatives had seized control of the region in an effort to inspire confidence in the local populace and to locate the suspects.

Source