Gunmen have attacked a police patrol and shot two officers dead in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

Confirming the incident in a statement, the Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, disclosed that the attack occurred along Nwofe road, outskirts of Abakaliki, on Friday morning.

Onovwakpoyeya stated that two police officers were shot dead while one other was receiving medical treatment at a hospital.

She said: “Today, November 17 at about 08:30 a.m., operatives of the Command on patrol were attacked by armed hoodlums using a tinted Highlander vehicle with a registration number unknown.

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“Two of the operatives were fatally wounded while one is currently receiving medical treatment at the hospital.

“The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Augustina Ogbodo, on receiving the distress call immediately dispatched tactical teams to the scene, who equally swung into action by giving the hoodlums a hot chase but the hoodlums escaped.

“The Commissioner of Police also visited the scene of the incident with her management team for an on-the-spot assessment.”

The police spokesperson urged the people of Ebonyi State to avail the Command with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the fleeing assailants, adding that the commissioner had reiterated the Command’s readiness for adequate security of lives and property in the state.

“The Command is assuring the people of round-the-clock visibility patrol of the nooks and crannies of the state,” she added.

The Star