Gunmen have shot dead two police officers and left another critically injured during an attack on a security checkpoint along the Obiri-Kwere axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The slain officers, alongside the injured policeman, were attached to the Aluu Police Division in Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The attackers reportedly struck at about 9 p.m. while the officers were conducting a routine stop-and-search operation at a checkpoint on the Mbodo/Aluu section of Obiri-Kwere Road.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants opened fire on the officers before fleeing the scene in a vehicle.
The attack came less than 24 hours after the Rivers State Police Command announced the arrest of a suspected notorious criminal, Austine Emenike, popularly known as “Oyibo.”
The command had disclosed that Emenike was allegedly linked to a wider criminal network, adding that one locally fabricated pistol, four single-barrel guns and five live cartridges were recovered during the operation.
A video circulating on social media after Monday night’s attack showed the lifeless bodies of two uniformed officers lying at the scene, while the third officer was reportedly rushed to a hospital for treatment.
In the footage, a voice alleged that the gunmen had first robbed residents in the area before turning their weapons on the policemen.
“You can see it happened now. Armed robbers came here and robbed everybody.
They killed these policemen. Look at their bodies,” the narrator said.
Confirming the incident on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko Agabe, said two officers lost their lives, while the injured officer is receiving medical treatment.
She added that the Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, accompanied by members of the command’s management team, visited the scene on Tuesday morning for an on-the-spot assessment.
“Yes, I can confirm. Two of our men died, and the other one was injured and is receiving treatment in the hospital.
“The Commissioner of Police, with other members of the command’s management team, visited the scene of the incident this morning to assess the situation, and the investigation is ongoing,” she said.
The police said investigations have commenced to identify and apprehend those responsible for the attack.