A police officer was shot dead on Friday afternoon along the Ugbowo Lagos Road near the Ekosodin junction in Benin City, Edo State, after gunmen believed to be armed robbers opened fire while attempting to evade security checks.
Sources noted that the assailants, who were fleeing in a black Lexus RX jeep, exchanged gunfire with operatives stationed around the area during the brief confrontation.
A witness said the vehicle had approached from the University of Benin main gate and initially passed a routine checkpoint before diverting into a side street on sighting another police post.
According to him, a Lexus jeep was ahead of me from the UNIBEN main gate toward Ekosodin. As soon as they noticed another checkpoint, they quickly turned onto a nearby street.
“The slain officer approached the diverted vehicle when the suspects suddenly stopped, stepped out, and allegedly opened fire on him at close range.
“The attackers were said to have taken the officer’s service rifle before attempting to flee.
“As the suspects sped off, they engaged other police officers on duty in a brief shootout before escaping from the scene”, he alleged.
As of the time of filing this report, the Edo State Police Command had not released an official statement, though a source within the Command confirmed the incident.