A police officer and a vigilante operative were killed, on Thursday, when gunmen bombed a police anti-cult unit in Obosi, a community in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria’s south-east.
The incident occurred at about 11 p.m.
The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
“The hoodlums came in three unmarked vehicles – a highlander (SUV), one Toyota Sienna, and one Toyota Corolla – started shooting sporadically and threw petrol bombs in the station,” said Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police.
The police spokesperson said a combined team of police and vigilante operatives engaged the gunmen in a shoot-out during the attack and “thwarted” their plan to cause heavy damage to the station.
“During the gun duel by the responding team comprising the police and vigilante operatives, unfortunately, one police operative and a vigilante member were fatally hit by a bullet,” he stated.
He added that the fire ignited by the patrol bomb which the hoodlums “threw inside the police compound affected partially a few of the offices.”
Mr Ikenga said the fire had since been put off and that the police had launched operations to track down the attackers.
Increased attacks
Like other states in Nigeria’s south-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.
The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.
The latest attack occurred about two days after gunmen bombed an office of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Ojoto, Idemili South Local Government Area and also attacked a Police Divisional Headquarters in Nnobi, another community in the same council area of the state, killing a 16-year-old boy and injuring a 15-year-old girl during the attack.
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The Nigerian government has accused the IPOB of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
IPOB is a group leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.
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