Four police officers were killed Friday night when gunmen attacked Agwa Divisional Police Headquarters in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east.
The incident, which happened around 10 p.m., has caused fear among residents.
The gunmen also razed a section of the facility and some operational vehicles within the premises.
They were said to have stormed the area in three vehicles —- a tipper and two sienna cars –— and opened fire on the facility, killing the officers in the process.
A resident said he heard several gunshots in the night at the police facility, but could not say the number of officers killed in the attack.
“It was this morning that we came out and saw corpses of policemen there. I am not sure how many of them were killed, but I saw up to four (bodies),” he said.
The police spokesperson in the state, Michael Abattam, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comments from him on the attack.
Worsening insecurity
Like other states in Nigeria’s South-east, security has deteriorated in Imo State, with frequent attacks by armed persons.
The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.
The latest incident came barely 24 hours after some gunmen attacked a residence of a police inspector in Orogwe, a community in Owerri West Local Government Area of the state. Two of the gunmen were killed in that attack.
Last week, gunmen invaded the same Orogwe Community and killed seven security guards.
The Nigerian government has accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks.
The separatist group is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which they want carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.
The leader of the secessionist group, Nnamdi Kanu, is detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for terrorism.
