The police in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria, have confirmed that an officer was killed during a fresh attack by suspected armed robbers in the state.
The armed persons were said to have launched an attack in Ezimo, a community in Udenu Local Government Area of the state at about 8 p.m. on 18 September.
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The police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday night.
Mr Ndukwe, a superintendent of police, was reacting to a report suggesting that some gunmen invaded the home of a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Frank Mba, and kidnapped his parents.
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The report also claimed a police operative attached to Mr Mba’s home was killed by the hoodlums during the attack.
The DIG hails from the Ezimo Community in the state.
Police speak
In the Sunday statement, Mr Ndukwe refuted the claim, stressing that neither Mr Mba’s parents nor his relatives were attacked or kidnapped.
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The spokesperson, however, confirmed that some hoodlums launched an attack in the community, resulting in the killing of an operative.
“Contrary to the false report, on 18th September 2025, at about 8 p.m., police operatives on routine patrol within the Ezimo Community promptly responded to a distress call and repelled an armed robbery attack.
“Sadly, a police officer who sustained gunshot injuries during the ensuing shootout later died in the hospital, where he was confirmed dead by the attending doctor,” he said without mentioning the slain officer’s name.
Mr Ndukwe did not also mention whether the armed robbery attack happened at Mr Mba’s residence or not.
“One male suspect has been arrested and is assisting the police in the ongoing discreet investigation and manhunt for the fleeing suspects,” he said.
The spokesperson said the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Bitrus Giwa, has urged operatives to sustain ongoing efforts to track down the fleeing assailants.
Mr Giwa reiterated that the police in the state were committed to combating violent crimes.
The latest attack happened in the same week gunmen ambushed and killed a Catholic priest, Matthew Eya, along the Eha-Alumonah–Eha-Ndiagu Road in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Worsening insecurity
Like other states in the South-east, security has deteriorated in Enugu State with frequent attacks by armed persons in recent times.
Kidnapping and armed robbery attacks have combined to worsen the security in the state and region.
Civil servants, business owners, politicians and even students have become targets of such attacks in the state lately.
Beyond the robbery attacks, gunmen said to be part of the Biafra agitation in the South-east have been terrorising residents of the region.
The outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been blamed for the frequent attacks in the South-east.
But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
IPOB is seeking the secession of South-east and some parts of the South-south from Nigeria.
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