Three Mobile Policemen were on Thursday morning killed while another was seriously injured as gunmen opened fire on them while they were resuming at their duty post near Agor, along the Igarra-Auchi Road in Edo State.
One of the assailants, however, died of gunshots while another sustained gunshot wounds and has been taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment and interrogation
Six rifles were recovered from the attackers’ hideout after it was discovered by a local vigilante group.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the incident happened between 5:30am and 6am close to the popular Agor market where the mobile policemen usually mount a roadblock.
It was gathered that they established the checkpoint because of the activities of kidnappers in the area who comb the farm settlements in that area kidnapping and collecting ransom from hapless farmers.
It was gathered that while the policemen were driving in their car, another of their colleague was riding on a motorbike following the vehicle when the assailants who had apparently laid ambush, opened fire on them but the one on bike was said to have engaged the assailants who fled into the bush with the four rifles of the three policemen after killing them.
It was gathered that men of the vigilante were called for reinforcement and later combed the bush and traced the assailants to their hideout and recovered the four police rifles and another two belonging to the attackers.
Narrating the incident, the head of the vigilante group in the area, Ibukun Dogo, said: “I got a call from the DPO around 6am that his men were attacked and we quickly mobilized to the place and saw the lifeless bodies of the three officers. We saw blood markings on the ground into the bush and we trailed that blood stains to a hideout of the suspects where we met two of them with gunshot injuries, one died from the gunshots while the other was taken away by the police to the hospital.
“We recovered the four police rifles and additional two in the area. The suspect said they are from Okene in Kogi state but we don’t know their mission whether it is armed robbery or kidnapping they wanted to use the arms and ammunition for.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Edo State, Chidi Nwabuzor, said the Command was yet to get the details of what happened.
