Gunmen kidnap cop, free suspects in fresh Imo police station attack

Gunmen have continued their onslaught on police stations in Imo State with an early morning Thursday attack on Mbieri Divisional Police Headquarters situated in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.

The bandits abducted a cop, injured two others and freed many suspects in detention at the police station.

A report by The PUNCH quoted an indigene of Mbieri that the bandits struck around 1am and immediately released the suspects in custody at the police facility.

The gunmen were also said to have taken away the phones of the police personnel on duty at the division and those of the suspects.

But a police source at the division said, “We resisted them but they overpowered us. They had more sophisticated weapons. They took all the phones they saw; released the suspects and vandalised the police building.”

The source also said the attackers kidnapped one police officer and injured two other cops.

A community leader, Nokey Ebikam, however said the police divisional headquarters was not burnt.

According to him, the gunmen attacked the police facility and freed the suspects in detention after vandalising the building.

Another indigene of the area, Darlington Irobi, confirmed the attack on the police facility.

Police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the attack on the police station when he was contacted by The PUNCH on Thursday morning.

He also confirmed that while one police officer was missing, two others were injured.

Ikeokwu also confirmed that some suspects detained in the police facility were freed by the attackers.

He however said the police authority in the state had commenced investigation into the attack.

The PUNCH reports that six divisional police headquarters had been attacked between February and April apart from the state police command headquarters and Owerri Correctional Centre attacked on Monday, with 1,884 inmates released and over 50 vehicles burnt.

The gunmen also attacked a military base at Ukwuorji on the Owner-Onitsha Expressway and razed four other operational vehicles belonging to the military.

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has said some aggrieved politicians are behind the attacks on police stations, adding that their objective is to destablise the All Progressives Congress administration.