A police inspector attached to the Mgbidi Divisional Police Headquarters in Imo State has been shot dead during an attack on the police facility by some unknown gunmen.

The attack, which happened at about 9 pm on Friday, left another officer injured, PUNCH is reporting.

“One police inspector was killed during the attack. The hoodlums arrived around 9 pm on Friday. They were met with stiff opposition by policemen who engaged them in a shootout. Unfortunately, a police officer died,” a source was quoted to have said.

Micheal Abattam, the spokesman of the state police command, confirmed the attack on Saturday morning, expressing confidence that the attackers would be apprehended because of the injuries they sustained.

“On 14th January, 2022, at about 20:45 hours, the command’s tactical teams at Mgbidi Police Station repelled an attack by some hoodlums who came in a white Hilux vehicle shooting sporadically and attempting to gain entrance into the station. They were repelled by the ever-gallant Imo command’s tactical teams and the police operatives of the division, who positioned themselves professionally,” he noted. 

“They engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel. In the process, the attackers were suppressed almost immediately. Having suffered a huge defeat, with a number of them sustaining various degrees of bullet wounds, they retreated and escaped in the Toyota Hilux vehicle they came with. And they were given a hot chase by the police operatives.

“Consequently, a vigorous and aggressive manhunt of the hoodlums is ongoing with the sole aim of tracking and arresting the fleeing hoodlums since they cannot go far because of the huge damage done to them.

“However, in the course of the attack, a police inspector lost his life, while another sustained a minor bullet injury on his hand.”

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Rabiu Hussaini, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, also encouraged the state police officers not to relent in their efforts until all criminal elements and their partners were apprehended and made to face the full wrath of the law.

He asked Imo residents to contribute to the security of the state “by giving security agencies, especially the police, credible and timely information, and to report any person seen treating bullet wounds or hiding within the community to the nearest police station for prompt action”.

Attacks against police formations across Nigeria persist despite the dissatisfaction of Usman Baba Alkali, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), with the volatility of police stations across the country.

In late December, the IGP vowed to take disciplinary action against senior officers in any of the police formations where an attack was successful.

The IGP said the force had become so volatile largely because of “poor alert level” and “supervisory dereliction” among senior officers.