A combined team of security operatives on Thursday night killed at least eight suspected militants of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) while repelling an attack on the Orlu Divisional Police headquarters in Imo State.
The security operatives also recovered seven vehicles the attackers came in for the operation.
- Hadiza Bala Usman Suspended As NPA MD
- Gumi: We’ve convinced bandits not to kill Greenfield varsity students
The incident is coming less than 24 hours after Abutu Yaro, the new police commissioner, assumed duty.
The gun duel between security operatives and the attackers lasted several hours as the military sent reinforcement from the 34 artillery brigade, Obinze, in Owerri, the state capital.
Residents of Orlu and its environs were in panic mode while the gun duel lasted.
“We slept with our hearts in our hands last night,” a resident of the area, who preferred not to be mentioned, told our correspondent.
The gunmen allegedly set ablaze an Armoured Personnel Carrier at Umuna junction in Orlu town.
The Police Spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, could not be reached but a police source confirmed the incident.
He said the corpses of the hoodlums and their vehicles had been brought to the state police headquarters in Owerri.
Armed men overran the police headquarters in April and set many detainees free.
