Just In : Gunmen blow-up police van with dynamite, k!ll two officers, 24 hours after Defence Headquarters declared Simon Ekpa wanted
The Imo State Police Command has confirmed the killing of two police officers attached to Mopol 18 by suspected gunmen along Gariki Road in Okigwe area of Imo State.
Confirming the unfortunate incident in a statement signed by the command’s spokesman, Henry Okoye said the officers were ambushed in the early hours of Saturday while on patrol duty along old Gariki Road, Okigwe by hoodlums who threw dynamite on the officer’s patrol vehicle and engaged them in a protracted gunfight.
He added that in the process, two officers paid the ultimate price while four others survived the attack.
According to the police spokesman, on receiving report of the ugly incident, the Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma, alongside Commander Mopol 18 and 64, immediately led operatives of the Command’s Special Tactical Unit to the crime scene for on-the-spot assessment.
He tasked the operatives to go all out in synergy with other security agencies and hunt down the hoodlums responsible for the attack
The CP has also mandated the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge of Okigwe, the DPO, and other tactical units deployed in Okigwe to embark on visibility patrol, intelligence-led raids of criminal hideouts, and place watertight security to forestall any future occurrence. While empathizing with the families, friends, and loved ones of the deceased officers, the Commissioner of Police reiterated in strong terms that the Command under his watch would not condone any form of attack on security personnel in the State.
He assured the people that the Command would leave no stone unturned in ensuring the perpetrators of this dastardly act are all arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.
Defence Headquarters declared Simon Ekpa, 96 others wanted The Defence Headquarters in Abuja have declared one of the leaders of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa wanted.
Ekpa’s name was published on the Military’s wanted list alongside 96 others from various parts of the country.
Headquarters said it declared 97 persons wanted for terrorism, violent extremism and secessionist threats against the state. Most prominent among the wanted persons is Ekpa who is controlling a faction of IPOB and has been credited with the declaration of the notorious Monday sit-at-home in the South-East zone. Advertisements The Director, Defence Media Operations Major General Edward Buba, Director, confirmed the names and pictures of the people declared wanted. The wanted persons, terrorists/ bandits and insurgents commanders are from the North East, North West, North Central and South-East zones.
A breakdown of the wanted persons shows that 43 were declared wanted in North West Zone plagued by banditry, and kidnapping among others and they include bandits/terrorists leaders such as Alhaji Shingi; Malindi Yakubu; Boka ; Dogo Gide; Halilu Sububu; Ado Aliero ; Bello Turji; Dan Bokkolo; Labi Yadi ; Nagala; Saidu Idris; Kachalla Rugga and Sani Gurgu.
In the North East, 33 persons were declared wanted and they include terrorists commanders: Abu Zaida; Modu Sulum; Baba Data; Ahmad; Sani Teacher; Baa Sadiq; Abdul Saad; Kaka Abi; Mohammad Khalifa; Umar Tella; Abu Mutahid; Mallam Mohammad; Mallam Tahiru Baga; Uzaiya and Ali Ngule.
In the North Central and South East 21 Insurgents/militants and violent criminals were equally declared wanted. They include factional IPOB leader, Simon Ekpa; Chika Edoziem; Egede; Zuma, ThankGod Gentle; Flavour; Mathew; David Ndubuisi ; High Chief Williams Agbor; Ebuka Nwaka; Friday Ojimka. Others in the South East are Obiemesi Chukwudi aka Dan Chuk; David Ezekwem Chidiebube and Amobi Chinonso Okafor aka Temple.
In February 2023 days before the presidential and national assembly election, Ekpa was arrested in Finland where he resides after threatening that the elections would not hold in the South-East.
Ekpa was arrested by the police in his residence in the Lahti area of the country, a Finnish paper Helsingin Sanomat had reported.
The separatist repeatedly declared that there will be no elections in the South-East region of the country and insisted on the observance of a sit-at-home every Monday in the area to protest the detention of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB, however, distanced itself from the Finland-based Ekpa who was reportedly billed for an interview before his arrest. He was later released and has since been very active on social media where he posts his pro-Biafran messages.
