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24 Hours After New IGP Takes Over, Gunmen Struck Again, Abduct Monarch and Cabinets Chiefs

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For the third time in 72 hours, gunmen hit another Police station in Owerri, Imo – Nigeria’s South-east state.

The dastardly act came some 24 hours after the new Inspector General of Police, Mr Alkali Baba took over as the nation’s police helmsman.

The hoodlums carried out the act late Wednesday at the Mbiere Divisional Police Headquarters in Mbaitoli local government area.

Prior to this time, the criminal elements had carried out two similar attacks in quick succession.

The first was at both the police and the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) headquarters in the state , while the second one happened just few hours after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, accompanied by the immediate past IGP Mohammed Adamu, visited the state to assess the level of damage at the police headquarters.

Latest attack

And in Wednesday’s attack which was the third, the hoodlums, Blueprint gathered, allegedly freed some suspects from the police detention facility and also stole some unidentified number of GSM phones belonging to both the suspects and police officers.

In the confusion, a police officer who displayed some level of bravery by confronting the hoodlums, was kidnapped in the process, with two others sustaining injuries from gunshots.

Spokesman of the state police command, Mr Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the attack, the missing cop as well as two others who were injured during the fracas.

Ikeokwu, who similarly said some detained suspects were freed by the gunmen, however assured that the command was immediately investigating the attack.

Monarch, cabinet chiefs abducted

In a related development, the gunmen upped their game Thursday when they kidnapped a royal father, Eze Charles Iroegbu of Umueze, Nguru in Aboh Mbaise local government area of the state.

The monarch, Blueprint gathered, was reportedly kidnapped alongside some of his cabinet chiefs on their way home after a wedding event at Mbano.

According to reports, the monarch who owns the All States Mass Transit suddenly saw the hoodlums who came in three vehicles when they were on their way home.

In the process, the criminals diverted and took the royal father and his chiefs to an unknown destination.

The source said: “His Highness and his cabinet chiefs were heading back home from a traditional wedding ceremony in Mbano they attended when they were kidnapped. They came in 3 vehicles, as we speak; nobody knows where they have taken them to.”

The state police command could not confirm the development as at the time of this report, as its image maker, Mr. Ikeokwu said the report had not come from any of the police divisions.

Security beef up over Kanu’s threat

Meanwhile, the Imo state government has beefed up security at the Government House Owerri over the threat issued by leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu allegedly issued in a broadcast on Wednesday evening.

One of our correspondents gathered that the IPOB leader was visibly angry over the roles allegedly played by some South-east governors which put citizens in a state of jeopardy and therefore, threatened to avenge on their behalf.

In what could be described as a swift reaction to the broadcast, the governor’s aides deployed about 30 armed policemen and soldiers to Government House Owerri main gate through the premises of the state Police Command to provide adequate security in and around the premises and forestall any possible attack from the operatives of the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

In the Monday attack believed to have been masterminded by ESN and IPOB elements, both the police and NCoS facilities were torched.

The hoodlums passed through the road linking the Government House with the Police Command, with no resistance coming from security details at the Government House.

Aba in fear

Also in another development, there is a regime of fear in Aba, the commercial headquarters of Abia state, as gunshots forced vehicular and human activities to a halt for several hours.

The sporadic gunshots were all over the entire Bata junction in Aba Area Command of the Nigeria Police Station and other parts of the city.

Though reasons for the gunshots could not be ascertained as at the time of this report, it was however learnt that officers of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) office of the Commissioner of Police, attached on reinforcement smashed and destroyed cars belonging to private and commercial transport companies and owners.

In the ensuing melee, about 15 vehicles were vandalised.

At the popular Aba General Motor Park located at Milverton, passersby were ordered to raise up their hands while crossing what has become a security zone of sort.

Similarly, shop owners at the popular GSM market along St. Michael’s road, including Hospital and Jubilee roads, abruptly shut down for the day.

Explosives in primary school

In a related development, the Abia state government Thursday said it has discovered suspected explosive materials at Union Primary School, Afaraukwu in the Umuahia North local government area of the state.

A statement by the state Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi Kalu, said following the discovery, the state government “is currently working with relevant security agencies in the state to unravel the source and nature of the explosives.”

“While initial examination of the devices show evidence of corrosion leading to suspicion of the materials being relics of the civil war era, we are awaiting a definite official report from the EOD squad of the Nigeria Police who are currently investigating the incident.

“Meanwhile, necessary measures have been taken to protect the pupils and staff of the school with security sweeps ongoing while the school is temporarily closed.”

Also, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has directed all security agencies to embark on proactive checks in other vulnerable locations out of an abundance of caution.

He also implored citizens and residents to ensure vigilance and report suspicious situations to security agents.

‘Police ignored intelligence’

Amidst all the security challenge, a former Assistant Director at the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, said the Nigeria Police ignored warnings about the attacks on the correctional facility and police headquarters in Imo state.

Featuring on Channels Television monitored by Press Informants, the ex-DSS chief said the police were warned three times about the attacks, noting that the events, especially the one on Monday, could have been averted if the police were on their toes.

He said: “There is enough actionable intelligence; actionable in the sense that it allows for space for people to execute it. One week ahead of this particular event and 72 hours before the event and 48 hours before the event, about three times, the Nigerian police were informed that this was going to happen.

“Some suspects that were being relocated around the area were found surveilling the prisons and the police headquarters, but you know, in our lackadaisical way, when the intelligence comes, they throw it by the side, and then of course when something happens, everybody runs around.”

Amachree maintained that the DSS could not have acted on its own intelligence because it was not “a fighting force,” he explained.

“The actionable party is actually the police, because when they say a particular installation or facility is under threat, then the actionable party would go ahead to correct it.

“The DSS is not a fighting force. They have a protective department that is basically responsible for the security of persons, VIPS. But when it comes to fighting, they always liaise with sister agencies, either the police or the military.”

He noted that “some people are just lazy to do their jobs” and advised other states to learn from Lagos State.

“In Lagos, the same intelligence has been coming around and of course they have been proactive. If it is happening in the North-East, it could happen in Lagos. Lagos itself has taken proactive steps, especially when it comes to securing correctional facilities in the state. And I think that’s what other states should follow now because they can’t sit back and wait until it happens to them,” he added