Two policemen attached to Enugu State Police Command were on Sunday morning killed during a stop-and-search operation at Uwani area of the state capital by unknown gunmen.
The command spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, who confirmed this in a statement Monday morning, said a massive manhunt for the attackers resulted to them abandoning a black Mercedes Benz ML 350 4Matic SUV used for the operation along Enugu-Port-Harcourt Road.
Mr Ndukwe said the Commissioner of Police (CP) Ahmed Ammani, ordered tactical/operational operatives of the command to sustain the “ongoing manhunt operation.”
“The armed hoodlums, who came in their numbers and operating in SUVs, suddenly opened fire on the police operatives on routine stop-and-search duty,” the statement explained. “Many of the hoodlums escaped with varying degrees of fatal gunshot injuries in the ensuing gun duel with the operatives.
“Two of the police operatives, who sustained severe gunshot injuries were moved to the hospital and they were confirmed dead and their corpses deposited in the mortuary for preservation.
“The recovery of the vehicle and the signs thereof, corroborates preliminary investigation, which suggests that at least two of the hoodlums were neutralised.
“The CP, therefore, urges citizens of the state and the general public to assist the command with useful information that will aid the speedy arrest of the suspects. The state police boss also called on residents and owners of medical facilities in particular to report any person or persons, dead or alive, sighted with gunshots injuries to the police,” the police statement added.
