By Cajetan Mmuta
The Enugu State Police Command yesterday disclosed the killing of a gunman in a forest at Agu-Ibeje, Enugu-Ezike, a community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, who disclosed this in a statement, said the gunman was killed when police operatives raided a camp inside a forest.
The camp is suspected to belong to members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Ndukwe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), described the raid as tactical and intelligence-driven, adding that it was carried out between 11 and 12 August following a directive from the state Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Lawal.
The statement read, “The hoodlums, on sighting the operatives, engaged them in a gun duel which led to the neutralisation of one of them while several others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.”
He said the operatives discovered a shallow grave in the camp where the corpse of a male police officer, who went missing on 30 July, was buried.
He said the operatives exhumed the body of the officer.
One out of 10 children dies before fifth birthday –NBS
The slain police officer, Johnson Okpanachi, was serving in Igbo-North Police Divisional Headquarters, before his abduction, the police said.
Several arms and ammunition, including vehicles, were recovered from the suspects, according to the police spokesperson.
Ndukwe said operatives also recovered another set of arms and weapons during a separate operation on 8 August.
He said the operation, carried out at about 9:15 a.m., was in response to a distress call when suspected IPOB members invaded and razed a house belonging to a local vigilante operative in Oduma, a community in the Aninri Local Government Area of the state.
Ndukwe said the state Commissioner of Police commended the operatives for the successful execution of the two operations without the loss of any officer.
The police commissioner urged residents to remain law-abiding, and vigilant and to support the police with information to help in crime-fighting.
He also appealed to individuals and owners of medical facilities in the state to report to the police anyone with gunshot wounds.
