Police in Enugu move to arrest masterminds of attacks

Enugu State Commissioner of Police (CP), Mohammed Aliyu, has ordered immediate deployment of the command’s operational and intelligence assets to identify and apprehend the gunmen who attacked the Adani Police Station in Uzo Uwani Council on Wednesday.

Aliyu gave the directive during an assessment visit to the station with heads of other security agencies in the state.

Confirming the attack, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Daniel Ndukwe, said the gunmen attacked and set ablaze the Adani Police Station on April 21, 2021, at 2.30 a.m. without provocation, adding that police operatives resisted the assailants, who attacked the station on duty and in the ensuing gun duel and that some of the gunmen escaped with injuries.

He, however, said two of the policemen, who engaged the criminals, were critically injured and later died in hospital.

Aliyu, who commiserated with the families and friends of the slain policemen, charged members of the public to assist the police with timely and credible information that would assist in the identification and prompt arrest of the assailants.

“He also urged residents of the state, especially owners of medical facilities, to promptly report anyone suspected to have gunshot injuries to the police,” Ndukwe said.

A resident of the area, Uchenna Onyeji, told journalists that the development had thrown residents of the area into panic and confusion.

Onyeji explained that the gunmen also freed all detainees in the station and looted the armory before setting the station ablaze.

Other residents confirmed that the attack lasted for over two hours with sporadic gunshots, adding that security personnel in the area failed to contain the superior firepower of the gunmen, which led to the burning of the police station.

They also said the gunmen gave notice of the attack before striking, adding that they snatched three AK-47 rifles from policemen guarding a Chinese company in the area, three days before the latest attack.

The attack on the Uzo Uwani Police Station is the first in Enugu State in the last few months in which gunmen have held South East to ransom.

On Monday, April 19, 2021, two police divisions in Uzuakoli, Bende, Abia State, and Zone 13 in Ukpo, Dunukofia, Anambra State were set ablaze by armed men in what looked like a coordinated attack.

Two weeks before the incidents, gunmen had attacked the police headquarters and correctional service headquarters in Imo State for over one hour. It was closely followed by attacks on the other two stations in the state.

Governors of the South East region and leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo had met recently in Owerri, Imo State to unveil a regional security outfit named, Ebube Agu, following incessant attacks on police facilities and killings in the zone.