The Imo State Police Command has repelled an attack by hoodlums, killing one suspected to be a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), armed and affiliated with the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
In a statement issued in Owerri Friday by the Police Spokesman CSP Michael Abattam, he said that the repel attack on the hoodlums in line with the directive, intelligence-led stop and search points which were created at strategic areas within the three senatorial zones in the State to checkmate the activities of hoodlums.
CSP Abattam said that step is a result of the robust security strategies emplaced by the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Mohammed Ahmed Barde mandating officers and men to dominate the entire security space in the State to ensure the eradication of all criminal elements in the State for a crime-free yuletide season
According to the PPRO, luck ran against a six-man terror gang of hoodlums who came in a sienna vehicle with registration number ABUJA-GWA 932 CQ, and attacked the Police Operatives while conducting stop and search duty along UBA Round About Orlu, Imo State.
He said the hoodlums who came prepared, started shooting sporadically at the Police Operatives but the galant police operative displayed dexterity by responding swiftly, positioning themselves professionally.
Abattam said that as the gun duel that ensued, the hoodlums were overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the police and in the process, one of the hoodlums was neutralised while others escaped into the adjoining bushes with fatal bullet injuries abandoning their sienna vehicle, one AK47 rifle with fifteen (15) rounds of live ammunition, two (2) English made Pump Action guns with ten (10) rounds of live cartridges and assorted charms.
He said that all the abandoned items were recovered by the police operatives to the station while the corpse was later removed from the scene and deposited at a nearby mortuary.
The Police Spokesman said that preliminary investigation revealed that, the sienna vehicle used by the terror gang was snatched from its owner in Amurie Omanze in Isu Local Government Area of Imo State and it was reported at Njaba Police Station
He said that the owner has been contacted to come with proof of ownership for the collection of his vehicle while the Command’s Tactical Teams are working assiduously to arrest the fleeing suspects.
The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Mohammed Ahmed Barde while commending the officers and men for their gallantry, thanked Imolites for their continued support and assured them of the Command’s efforts in wiping out crime and criminality in the State to ensure a crime-free yuletide season.
He enjoined them to be wary of persons living within their neighbourhoods and to report any person/persons seen with or treating bullet wounds to the nearest police station.