Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
There was tension yesterday in Delta North communities as three policemen lost their lives following an early morning gun attack on Umutu Police Divisional Headquarters in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.
The gunmen, who reportedly invaded the station at 2a.m., left two police constables who were on night duty dead.
A third officer, an assistant superintendent of police (ASP), died from shock at the cold-blooded killing of his men, state police authorities said yesterday morning.
However, arms and ammunition were not stolen by the unidentified invaders of the Umutu Police Station, the authorities further said.
The gunmen also attacked the Ndemili police divisional office in the Ukwani area.
The criminals destroyed various facilities at the Ndemili Police Station, though no life was lost at the station.
Speaking on the development, the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Ari Muhammed Ali, who confirmed the attack on Umutu Police Station, said that two constables were shot dead but an ASP also died apparently from shock or heart attack.
Ali, however, revealed that the police killed two of the gunmen during the invasion, but lamented that the criminals were able to remove “the bodies of their men from the scene of incident.
“What happened was that at about 1:45am this morning (Friday), we got information about attack on Umutu Police Station, which was repelled by our men.
“Having put up that gallant fight, we lost two constables who were shot dead while an ASP died of heart attack in the process.
“He (the ASP) wasn’t shot, which means that he was shocked and the shock killed him. He was foaming from the mouth.
“So, we were able to repel the attack. Our men killed two of them but because they came with vehicles, they quickly moved their bodies away. But to the glory of God, the station is safe. No arm was lost.”
Friday’s attack was coming barely 48 hours after a policeman was killed when hoodlums launched a surprise attack on a police team on routine patrol along the Otulu-Akwukwu-Igbo Road on Wednesday morning.
The state police command spokesman, Bright Edafe, a DSP, later said that the ringleader of the hoodlums fingered had been arrested at Akwukwu-Igbo, the administrative headquarters of Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.
These attacks are coming only about two weeks after unidentified gunmen attacked the Divisional Police headquarters in Nsukwa, Aniocha South Local Government Area of the state, killing three police officers including the DPO of the station.
The criminals allegedly carted away arms and ammunition before setting the police station ablaze, creating palpable fear in the quiet agrarian community.
