Gunmen kill four police officers at Ebonyi checkpoint

Gunmen in the early hours of Friday killed four police officers at a checkpoint in Ebonyi State.

Eyewitnesses told journalists that two ladies were killed by stray bullets in the incident which occurred at the popular Ebyia Bridge Checkpoint in Abakaliki, the state capital.

The spokesman for the state police command, Ukandu Joshua, confirmed the incident in a statement in Abakaliki.

He said: “Today, 08/03/2024 at about 05:00 am, operatives of the Command who were posted to duty at Hill-Top stop and search/pin-down point along Nwofe Road, at the outskirts of Abakaliki, were attacked by armed hoodlums, who shot sporadically at the operatives.

READ ALSO: Gunmen kill two in Ebonyi community

“The operatives engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun duel, and in the ensuing gun battle, the hoodlums scampered and abandoned a pump action rifle which was recovered. However, four (4) of the operatives paid the supreme price, while two (2) civilians were caught in the crossfire and killed.”

Criminals have killed about 100 police officers and destroyed several facilities in Ebonyi and four other states in the South-East since 2021.

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