Gunmen have again killed two policemen manning a checkpoint at Urua Inyang, headquarters of Ika local government area of Akwa Ibom state.
The Police public relations officer (PPRO), SP Odiko Macdon, who confirmed the incident to journalists on Wednesday, said he was in the company of the Commissioner of Police, Amiengheme Andrew, for an on-the-spot assessment of the scene of the attack at Ika.
“We are in Ika, trying to gather more facts about the incident,” the police spokesman said, adding that he would only be in a better position to give details after the visit.
According to the Police spokesman, the Commissioner of Police and the entire Police community in the state were very saddened by the development, given the fact that some officers of the Command had earlier this month been killed by the hoodlums while others declared missing.
Inimfon Silas, a journalist and chairman of the Federated Chapel of the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), who hails from the area, said: “the armed hoodlums on several motorcycles, stormed the checkpoint and shot the two officers dead, while others fled, leaving the hoodlums to seize their riffles and set their patrol van ablaze.”
The latest killing brought the number of policemen killed to five in the line of duty in Akwa Ibom by unknown gunmen, while four others were declared missing in the recent times.
Two Inspectors were set ablaze and a leader of the Quick Response Squad (QRS), a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), was also shot dead while leading the squad to confront armed hoodlums at their base in Ikot Akpan in Essien Udim local government area.
