Dare-devil armed robbers have killed five policemen in two separate attacks in Enugu and Oyo States in which they abducted two other operatives.
The Enugu incident occurred on Thursday in a checkpoint attack at the Cashew Bus Stop, Corridor Area of the Independence Layout in Enugu.
The corpse of one of the policemen in uniform was seen in a viral video with residents claiming he was shot in the forehead. An eyewitness said that the gunmen, numbering about six, came in Mercedes Benz and Toyota jeeps with hoods and started shooting sporadically causing pandemonium as residents began to run for safety.
It was learnt that about seven policemen were at the checkpoint when the incident happened around 12: 30 pm and were taken by surprise by the robbers. In the Oyo state incident which occurred in Ibadan, the state capital, the robbers attacked a bullion van transporting money to a bank at Idi-Ape in the Ibadan, North East Local Government Area killing three police officers and four civilians.
The robbers who were said to have dressed in police uniforms, trailed the van to Idi-Ape and, tried unsuccessfully to intercept the bullion van in the area.
An eyewitness said that the robbers later forced the bullion van open with gunshots and carted away an unspecified amount of money.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ngozi Onadeko, who visited the scene of the crime confirmed the death of two police officers, saying they were shot in the neck. Onadeko also said that the officers killed one of the robbers but the corpse was taken away by the robbery gang.
She said that the state had been locked down to prevent the robbers from escaping.
The CP said that the police in conjunction with other security agencies in the state were collaborating to arrest the robbers, adding that more details would be provided to the public on the matter.