Gunmen kill six policemen in Delta, Ebonyi, cart away rifles

Kwara director found dead in office
Tragedy struck on Sunday night as unknown gunmen killed three policemen in Ughelli area of Delta State. The police officers were identified as Insp. Simon Madaki, Insp. Mutari Lawal and Sgt. Adamu Ibraham. They were transferred from Mopol 47, Zaria in Kaduna a year ago.

The cops, according to a source, were taken unawares at a popular fast food joint in Ughelli, known as Wakyz, where they provided security. They were shot at close range.

According to a source, “they were from Kaduna and had been in the hotel on ‘Special Duty’ for nearly a year. “They were four mobile policemen guarding the hotel; while the three deceased were outside, the surviving one was inside.”

The attack came few days after a new Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mr Benjamin Igometi, took over the reins of affairs of the Ughelli ‘A’ Division, with a charge on him to curb rising spate of insecurity in the area.

A senior police officer confirmed the incident to The Guardian at the venue of the ongoing Judicial Panel of Inquiry on extrajudicial killings in Delta State, holding in Warri.

He said the three police personnel were killed by suspected armed robbers, who carted away their service riffles.

The Delta State police spokesperson, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, said the police had launched investigation into the matter, but provided no further information.

Ughelli town and environs have been under siege in the last three months due to the unending clashes between rival cult groups that have led to the death of nine persons.

GUNMEN have also attacked a police station in Ebonyi State, killing three policemen.

Two others sustained bullet wounds in the attack on Onueke Police Station in Ezza South Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that the hoodlums attacked the police station on Friday night. The slain officers comprised two male inspectors and one woman who was killed in her office. Two AK-47 rifles were taken away by the assailants.

Police spokeswoman, Loveth Oda, confirmed the incident, adding that the bodies of the slain officers had been deposited in a mortuary while the two who sustained bullet wounds were receiving treatment.

Odah urged the general public to provide the police with information that could lead to the arrest of the attackers.

The Commissioner of Police, Philip Maku, who visited the attacked station at the weekend to assess the damage, said the perpetrators would be tracked down and brought to book.

MEANWHILE, a director in the Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Khalid Ibrahim Ndaman, was found dead in his office in Ilorin yesterday.

Officials of the ministry, who asked not to be named, said the body of Ndaman, who was until his death the Director of Veterinary in the ministry, was found in the office.

It was when one of the staff went to meet him about one hour after his arrival to discuss a pending official matter that he met him dead. It was gathered that Ndaman was resting his head on the table, but was already dead.

One of the staff who pleaded for anonymity said: “A worker knocked his door, but there was no response. So, after sometime, he went inside. There was a pending official matter since Friday that he needed to conclude with him. So, he needed to see him.

“Having waited outside with no response, the worker went inside the office and met him resting his head on the table. He greeted him, still no response until he moved close and touch him to realise that he was already dead. ”

Spokesman of the state police command, Kayode Okasanmi, confirmed the incident. He said: “For now, it is a case of sudden natural death until we complete investigation. We will brief the press depending on the outcome of our findings.”