The Imo State Police Command has launched a manhunt for the killers of its five operatives and a couple at Okpala junction in the Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of the State. The gunmen opened fire on five policemen who went to eat at a local restaurant, killing all of them and carted away their riffles. They also killed a couple identified as Mr and Mrs Chinaka Nwagu who owned a shop beside the location of the crime.
The spokesperson for the Police in the State, Henry Okoye, confirmed the gruesome murder, stating that the Command’s Tactical and Operational Teams had been deployed to the area to search for the suspects. He further stressed that security had also been beefed up in the area to increase public confidence.
According to him, “The Command has deployed Tactical and Operational Teams of the Command to the area for constant patrol and in search of those behind this dastardly act. We are closing in on them. The corpses of the operatives have been evacuated and deposited in a morgue.”
The incident threw the junction and the entire community into a state of palpable tension as commercial activities abruptly came to standstill. An eyewitness disclosed that while the policemen were eating, some gunmen drove to the scene and opened fire on them. While three policemen were shot dead at the scene, two others ran to a nearby shop but their attackers trailed them to the shop and killed them and equally killed the couple who owned the shop.
The Imo State Police Command has urged members of the public to go about their lawful businesses without fear and or intimidation, assuring them of its capability to protect the people of the state. The manhunt for the perpetrators of this heinous crime is still ongoing