Police nab three for killing officers in Enugu
Caution against misinformation
THE Police in Enugu, yesterday, gave a harrowing account of how two officers and three neighbourhood watch members were gruesomely murdered in Igga Community, Uzo- Uwani Local Council of the state at the weekend.
They also confirmed the arrest of three male suspects in connection with the killings, adding that the bodies of the murdered police officers and Neighbourhood Watch members have been recovered and taken to the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
The Guardian gathered that the deceased were killed during an attack by some hoodlums on a team of Investors on a tour of a proposed Ada Rice Production Limited, an agricultural investment site, close to the community.
Following the attack, a combined team of security officials reportedly returned to the community on Saturday night, shooting and setting some targets on fire.
A viral video on Facebook linked to the incident showed several property and shops on flames while a male voice was heard in the background lamenting and appealing for help for the community members.
But Enugu State Police Command in a statement yesterday, stated that its officers and the team of investors from Lagos were ambushed by the criminal gang in the community who opened fire on them. The statement signed by the Command’s spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe said: “The Enugu State Police Command wishes to inform the public of the unprovoked and unwarranted attack and gruesome murder of two police officers and three Neighbourhood Watch members by harboured criminal members of the Igga Community in UzoUwani Local Council in the evening hours of Friday, May 3.
“On the same date, a combined security team of three police officers and four Neighbourhood Watch Group provided security for a team of visiting investors from Lagos on a tour of a proposed agricultural investment site in the area.
“However, the team was ambushed and attacked by a large group of criminal elements, who opened fire on them.”
He continued: “Upon the unprovoked sudden attack, members of the team scampered for safety, while an Assistant Superintendent of Police ( ASP), who led the team, one Neighbourhood Watch personnel, and the three members of the team of investors were later rescued by a police team that immediately mobilised to the crime scene.
“But they eventually murdered some members of the team, while others are missing and unaccounted for. “However, in the course of a full- scale investigation, a search and manhunt operation launched thereafter, three males suspected to have masterminded the attack were arrested.
“Their revelations during interrogation led to the discovery and recovery of the slain policemen and Neighborhood Watch Group members in the forest on May 4.