Thursday’sattack on a checkpoint along Onitsha/Owerri Road.
The
announcement was made in a statement signed by Assistant Superintendent of
Police Nkieruka Owude, Anambra State Police Command Public Relations Officer
(PPRO) on behalf the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Garba Baba Umar.
A mob had
attacked the checkpoint in protest over the killing of a woman and three
children by an articulated vehicle, which a policeman at the checkpoint
allegedly caused when he ordered the vehicle to stop.
The Anambra
State Police Command said it received a distress call at about noon that over
100 protesters had massed at the checkpoint along Onitsha/Owerri Road, which
was manned by a visiting Police Mobile Unit attached to 3 Police Mobile Force
(PMF) Enugu.
The
protesting mob killed one Uchenna Ezike, a sergeant; took away his AK-47 rifle,
burnt four vehicles and destroyed part of Bontus group. A preliminary investigation into the matter,
claimed the Police, revealed that the articulated vehicle, a Mercedes Benz 1513
lorry (Registration number Anambra 859 GDD), lost control at the checkpoint and
knocked down a yet to be identified woman and three children.
The Police
explained that on receipt of a distress call, Police patrol teams led by
Divisional Police Officer Okpolo rushed to the scene to restore normalcy and
arrested 13 suspects, including one Paul Igwe in whose custody the rifle of the
deceased Police sergeant was recovered.
The
statement added that the Commissioner of Police has ordered the conduct of a
full-scale investigation to ascertain the actual cause of the incident and fish
out all those involved. In addition, the
statement said all the four victims of the incident, including the police
officer were rushed to Toronto Hospital in Onitsha for medical attention but
were certified dead on arrival by a medical doctor and their corpses were
deposited at the mortuary for postmortem examination.
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