No fewer than five people including four policemen and a Point of Sale (PoS) operator were reportedly killed by Gunmen along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State.
It was gathered that the hodlums ambushed and attacked the policemen who were on stop-and-search duty in the area while the PoS operator was killed in the ambush, on Monday evening.
An eyewitness who pleaded anonyity said; “The gunmen stormed one of the popular hotels where the police checkpoint was mounted at Irete around 6:30 pm and shot at the four policemen on a stop-and-search duty, including a Point of Sale operator.
“They also shot dead a female Point Of Sale operator and some pedestrians who were taken unawares and rushed to a nearby hospital. It was horrific. All the people around ran away for fear of being hit by stray bullets.
“This road has become a soft spot for them. Last time, they also shot dead several policemen on duty and civilians.
“Government should beef up security in this area to forestall further occurrences.”
Another indigene who also spoke on the condition of anonymity said the attackers were enforcers of the Monday sit-at-home order in the South-East.
“I didn’t know the Monday sit-at-home is still existing in Imo State. I thought it had been stopped but with what happened today, people will no longer come out on Monday for fear of being killed by gunmen”, he said.
Confirming the incident, the spokesman of the state police comand, Henry Okoye, said four policemen were killed and not six.
