Gunmen Kill Three Policemen, Pregnant Policewoman in Edo

 

It was a bloody situation for the sleepy town of Afuze, headquarters of Owan East council area of Edo State as gunmen unleashed terror in the area, killing four police officers in the process.

Among those gunned down in most gruesome manner, according to the report, included the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the station, the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), a pregnant policewoman and another policeman respectively.

The victims were said to have been massacred by the rampaging gunmen who stormed the police station last Tuesday night in a vehicle at about 8:00p.m.

The the officers killed in the attack were DPO Tosimani Ojo (a Superintendent of Police); Sergeant Justina Aghomon (a pregnant policewoman), Inspector Sado Isaac (DCO) and Corporal Glory David.

The hoodlums also attacked the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the local government area thereby destroying electoral materials and burning down police van in the compound.

An eyewitness, Godwin Ikpekhia, said the incident occurred at about 8 p.m. last Tuesday night when many of the officers of the division had gone out for duty.

He said: "We only heard gun shoot, and nobody knew what happened until this morning.

"The DPO and three other officers who were on duty were killed on the spot inside the building.

"The hoodlums didn’t stop at that, they went to the INEC office shooting sporadically in order to attack those on duty.

"Election materials and police van at INEC office were also burnt down by the hoodlums."

Reacting to the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammed Danmallam, who visited the scene of the incident, said investigation would commence immediately.

Danmallam vowed that those responsible for the attack would be brought to book, noting that urgent steps would be taken to curb the increasing cases of criminality in Owan axis of the state.

However, some of the residents have lamented that the increasing attack by gunmen who entered the community and later escaped mysteriously is becoming worrisome.

Nevertheless, further findings revealed that the seeming night attack by the hoodlums may not be unconnected with drug cartels, who make used of Owan axis as their route to ferry hard drugs like cannabis popularly known as Indian hemp, which activities have link with towns and communities from neighbouring Ondo State and adjoining areas.

For instance, on July 14 last year, a similar gruesome attack took place at a checkpoint near Uzeba-Aviosi junction on Ifon road in Sabongida Ora, headquarters of Owan West Local Government Area where four police officers were attacked at a check point in the area, killed and burnt inside their patrol Hilux van.