Gunmen have shot dead four policemen and set their offices ablaze at Abayi Osisioma Ngwa divisional police station and two other formations in Abia State.
The bandits said to be numbering about 50, also carted away arms and ammunition from the station located along Umuojima/MCC Road, in the Osisioma council area of Aba commercial town.
The Divisional Police Officer ( DPO) in charge of the area, said two other stations were also attacked and burnt by bandits.
The DPO, CSP Ajimo, neither mentioned the number of his men that got killed nor the locations of the two other stations that were also burnt. He could not point at those that may have carried out the dastardly acts and their motive.
It was gathered that while two of the officers were killed at Abayi Osisioma, in the Osisioma council area, the other two met their untimely death at Omoba divisional headquarters of Isiala Ngwa South, in a similar manner.
Abia State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Geoffrey Ogbonna, said some of the hoodlums were also killed in a shootout that ensued during the Omoba incident, with others escaping with arms from the station.
At the Abayi/Umuojima Osisioma station, several buildings and vehicles packed in the premises were among property destroyed by the bandits.
DPO of Osisioma Police Division, later conducted the Chairman of the council area, Christian Kamalu round the scene of the incident.
It was further gathered that all police formations in the Aba area had been cordoned off from vehicular movement since last year’s EndSARS protest by the youths. Also, gunmen were reported to have attacked the Police Mobile Force (PMF) 28 Squadron, located inside the state police command headquarters, Umuahia.
After the attack, the gunmen were reported to have fled unchallenged.
Meanwhile, Abia State Government has reacted to yesterday’s attack on the Abayi police station in which two policemen were killed and arms carted away by gunmen.
The state government has also placed an N1m bounty on anybody who would give information to the recovery of arms looted by the hoodlums.
To further checkmate criminal activities in the state, the government has banned commercial tricycle and Motorcycle operators (Keke/Okada) from operating between 7 pm and 7 am in all major cities of the state starting from yesterday.
A statement by the commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi-Kalu stated that the attention of the State government has been drawn to a mindless and cowardly attack on a police station in Aba by yet to be identified armed hoodlums in the early hours of Tuesday, leading to loss of precious lives and carting away of arms and ammunition.
