Police launch manhunt for gunmen who attacked INEC office, killed officer

The police in Enugu State, South-east Nigeria, said they have launched a manhunt for gunmen who attacked the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Enugu and killed a police officer deployed in the commission’s office.

The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ahmed Ammani, gave the directive to the operatives.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the gunmen attacked the INEC office in Enugu South Local Government Area, Enugu State, on Sunday, killing the police officer deployed in the area and razing a security house of the office.

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the attack happened at the INEC office located in Amechi-Awkunanaw, a community in the Enugu South Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson said the gunmen – suspected to be members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) – used a petrol bomb to set the security house ablaze.

He said the hoodlums attempted to raze the entire facility but were “resisted and repelled” by police operatives on duty at the facility.

“In the ensuing gun duel, however, one of the resilient operatives sustained a fatal gunshot injury and was taken to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead, and his corpse deposited in the mortuary for preservation; while many of the hoodlums, escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds,” he said.

Mr Ammani expressed the commitment of the police in the state to ensure that the slain police officer did not die in vain, Mr Ndukwe said.

READ ALSO: APC gives EFCC, ICPC 72hours ultimatum to arrest Atiku

“The police shall remain focused and intensify existing interagency collaboration towards the protection of INEC’s facilities and ensure the conduct of peaceful and credible general elections in the state,” he said.

The police commissioner enjoined residents of the state, particularly owners of medical facilities, to quickly report to the police anyone seen with gunshot injury around their areas.

He urged the residents to remain vigilant and law-abiding, and assist the police with “necessary information and intelligence” that will aid the arrest of the fleeing suspects.

Increased attacks

Security in Nigeria’s South-east has deteriorated lately with frequent attacks by armed persons across the region.

The attacks on INEC facilities and security agencies around the South-east and the South-south regions have been attributed to the IPOB, a group leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants to be carved out from the two regions.

But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks.