Gunmen kill ‘four police officers, POS operator’ in Imo

Some gunmen have reportedly killed four police officers on stop and search duty along Owerri-Onitsha road in Imo state on Monday.

Witnesses said the attack on the police officers happened around 6:30 pm, noting that the gunmen also shot a female POS operator dead.

One of the witnesses, who claimed to be a resident of Irete in Owerri-west LGA of Imo, said passersby were also wounded while trying to escape the attack.

“The gunmen stormed at the Blossom Hotel police checkpoint, near Save More Market Place Irete, around 6:30 or thereabout, and shot sporadically at the policemen on stop and search duty, killing four officers on duty,” the witness said.

“They also shot dead a female POS operator and some pedestrians who were taken unaware and rushed to a nearby hospital.

“It was horrific. All the people around ran away for fear of being hit by stray bullets.

“This road has become a soft spot for them. Last time, they also shot dead several policemen on duty and civilians. The government should beef up security in this area to forestall further occurrences.”

Another witness said the attackers were enforcers of the Monday sit-at-home in the south-east region.

“I didn’t know the Monday sit-at-home is still existing in Imo state. I thought it had been jettisoned, but with what happened today, people will no longer come out on Monday for fear of being killed by unknown gunmen,” the witness said.

Meanwhile, the police command in the state has yet to confirm the incident.

TheCable reached out to Henry Okoye, police spokesperson in Imo, but he did not respond to calls and messages sent to his mobile phone.

Earlier this year, gunmen killed two police officers on stop and search duty at Ohii junction in Owerri-west LGA of Imo state.