Matthew Onocheta

Gunmen on Monday evening killed four police officers on a stop-and-search checkpoint along the Owerri-Onitsha road in Imo state, South-East Nigeria.

An eyewitness who claimed to be a resident of Irete in Owerri West Local Government Area of the state told local newspaper, The Punch that fear couldn’t allow him and others to ascertain how many civilians were also shot.

“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,” he said.

“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.

He said: “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.”

Imo State Police Command’s spokesman, Henry Okoye, did not respond to requests for comment.

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