Gunmen launched an assault on a police checkpoint adjacent to the Nnobi Police Station along the Nnobi/Nkpor Road in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State on Friday night.
According to reports, the attackers had strategically positioned themselves in the area before carrying out the attack. This incident comes less than three weeks after a similar attack on a police checkpoint on Omata-Nnobi Road in nearby Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area, where a police officer was also killed and an explosive device was used.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that during the recent attack, one police officer, who was reportedly the driver of one of the police vehicles, was shot and killed.
A local source revealed that the assailants had infiltrated the community earlier on Friday, taking up residence in a house near the checkpoint. They allegedly broke through a wall to gain access to the compound, forced the residents to open the gate, and drove in their vehicles. The gunmen then confiscated the residents’ phones, locked them in a room, and threatened to shoot them if they raised the alarm.
The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the incident and stated that the situation was under control. He added that an ongoing operation had been initiated in the area under the directive of the State Police Commissioner, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam.
