Armed attackers fatally shoot two officers, wound a third in Rivers state

Monday night saw a deadly attack along the Obiri-Kwere axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, where gunmen shot and killed two policemen, while a third officer suffered severe bullet wounds. The incident occurred during a routine stop-and-search operation at a security checkpoint along the Mbodo/Aluu axis of Obiri-Kwerre Road.

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The three policemen were attached to the Aluu Division in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state and were targeted by the assailants at around 9 pm, after which the gunmen quickly fled the scene in their vehicle.

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The attack came just 24 hours after the Rivers State Police Command announced the arrest of a suspected high-profile criminal, Austine Emenike, also known as “Oyibo,” and the recovery of one locally made pistol, four single-barrel guns, and five live cartridges.

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According to the State Police spokesperson, the arrested suspect, Emenike, is linked to a wider criminal network, as stated in a statement released on Monday.

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A video circulating on social media shows the lifeless bodies of the officers still in their uniforms, lying in pools of blood at the scene, with a voice in the background explaining that the gunmen were robbing in the area before opening fire on the operatives.

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The voice in the video can be heard saying, “You can see, it happened now, armed robbers came here and robbed everybody, they killed these policemen, look at their bodies.”

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When contacted on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the state police command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed the incident and stated that an investigation is ongoing.

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Agabe, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, also revealed that the state Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, visited the scene on Tuesday morning, accompanied by his management team, to conduct an on-the-spot assessment.

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Agabe stated, “Yes, I can confirm, two of our men died, and the other one was injured and is receiving treatment in the hospital.”

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She further added, “The Commissioner of Police, with other members of the command’s management team, visited the scene of the incident this morning to assess the situation, and the investigation is ongoing.”