A policeman has been killed in a gun duel between security operatives and gunmen in Ebonyi State.
The incident happened on Monday night while personnel of the State Police Command were on a stop and search duty at the Union Bank roundabout in Abakaliki.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Onovwakpoyeya, a Superintendent of Police, said two other operatives were injured and are receiving treatment in the hospital.
He added that casualties were also recorded on the side of the hoodlums, but however, did not state how many of the gunmen were killed or injured.
“On the 22/05/2023 at about 2030hrs, the Operatives of the Command on Stop and Search duty at Union Bank roundabout, the area where banks are concentrated in the State Capital, engaged in a shootout with heavily armed hoodlums, whose mission was unknown in the area,” the statement read.
“Sadly, one of the Operatives paid the supreme price, while two others were injured and are receiving treatment in the hospital. Also, the hoodlums equally recorded casualties but were taken away.”
According to the police spokesman, the Commissioner of Police, Faleye Olayele is appealing to residents of Ebonyi State to report anyone seen with a bullet wound or soliciting for treatment for same.
The police commissioner called for calm, saying measures have been emplaced to protect the lives and property of the citizens and that the Command will not rest on its oars until the perpetrators are hounded down.
Ebonyi is one of the states in the South-East that is affected by gunmen who wreak havoc in the region.
Other states are Abia, Imo, Enugu and Anambra State. It is however not clear if Monday’s attack is linked to members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) or armed robbers.