• IGP deploys crack detectives to hunt down attackers
• Two policemen killed as robbers make away with cash, rifles
• Mob burn police station after officer killed man
In a commando-style offensive, gunmen yesterday morning invaded a police station in Agudama community, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, killing four policemen.
The slain officers include a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), SP Ola Rosanla, a seven-month pregnant policewoman, Joy Wellington and two cops who were on duty. Two others were severely injured. The gunmen carted away riffles, ammunition and police uniforms from the station in an operation that lasted about an hour.
According to sources from the community who spoke on condition of anonymity, no civilian was killed in the attack, as there were no detainees in the station at the time the attack occurred at about 2:15a.m. The rifles in arsenal of the police station and uniforms belonging to the deceased officers were taken away by the gunmen.
Reacting to the brutal attack, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered a massive manhunt for the perpetrators. A statement via email from Frank Mba, the police spokesman, said the IGP, had pledged that no stone would be left unturned in apprehending the perpetrators and bringing them to book.
The gunmen had invaded the station, which does not have a perimeter fence, from the bank of the river and caught the policemen on duty unawares. They were said to have instructed the DPO, to take them to the armoury and ensured they took all the guns and ammunition before they forced him to kneel down and shot him.
Thereafter, they moved from one room to the other searching for policemen believed to be hiding in the rooms. It was in one of the rooms they killed the pregnant policewoman.
Two other policemen on patrol heard the gunshots and rushed down to the station where they had a gun duel with the killers but the superior firepower of the bandits overpowered them. Though they inflicting bullet wounds on the fleeing attackers, the two cops also suffered fatal wounds and are now in critical condition at the hospital.
Meanwhile, an irate mob burnt down a police station in Imo State yesterday, following an accidental discharge by an officer that killed a young man. “A police officer mistakenly killed a man who was about 25 years old and the people have been very angry about it,” a witness said.
The mob reportedly ransacked the police station and took away weapons and other valuables at about 2:30p.m. It was not immediately clear if officers were wounded or killed during the violence. But the state’s Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, told The Guardian they had taken control of the situation.
His words: “I am here in Obowo now, we are still recovering arms. We didn’t attack because we do not want crossfire. Our arms are being recovered.”
In another development, suspected armed robbers yesterday shot dead two police officers escorting a van conveying huge amount of money to an unknown destination. The incident occurred around Ojoto Street, Mile 2, in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the policemen were in a Toyota Camry car, escorting the van to an unknown place when the bandits attacked. It further learnt that the criminals after killing the policemen took their guns before carting away the money. An eyewitness, a trader, said other policemen in the escort fled for safety.
THE GUARDIAN
