Three policemen were injured on Thursday when gunmen attacked a police checkpoint along the Ekwulobia highway, Aguata local government area. Anambra State.
The incident, which occurred hours after gunmen attacked the Nteje Police Headquarters in the state’s Oyi Local Government Area, was the third reported attack in the southeast in one day.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that gunmen attacked a polling unit where the continuous voter registration exercise was taking place in the Ihitte Uboma local government area of Imo state, killing an official on Thursday.
Local media reports claimed that the latest incident occurred in Isuofia, the hometown of Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo, and that a police officer was killed in the attack.
But in a statement on Friday, Anambra state police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga denied the reports, insisting the attack did not happen in the governor’s community and that no policemen were killed in the attack.
“The mobile personnel stationed at the (checkpoint) repelled the attack, but unfortunately three of them suffered gunshot wounds during the shootout with the thugs,” he said.
Ikenga, deputy police superintendent, said the commando had deployed some police officers to the area to restore normality.
“Calm has returned to the area,” Ikenga said.
He said police had launched an operation to arrest the fleeing suspects.
Attacks by armed individuals have been on the rise in the Southeast in recent times. Attacks often target security agencies and government facilities.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an outlaw group, has been linked to the deadly attacks in the southeast. But the group has repeatedly denied involvement in the attacks.
IPOB wants an independent Biafra state to be formed from south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria.
The leader of the separatist group, Nnamdi Kanu, is currently detained in Abuja, where he is facing trial for alleged treason.