The Anambra police command has confirmed that two of its officers were killed by gunmen in the Uga roundabout area of Aguata LGA of the state.
The gunmen who were reportedly on a kidnap mission, were operating in the area when a team of policemen attached to a motorcade belonging to a prominent politician, Chris Uba, but unaware of their presence, ran into them.
The command said the officers were trying to clear the traffic gridlock, but the armed men who sensed danger, shot two of them dead and fled the scene after a gun duel.
Aderemi Adeoye, commissioner of police (CP) in Anambra, has directed an intensive manhunt for the assailants.
Tochukwu Ikenga, the police public relations officer (PPRO), Anambra command, said in a statement that the gunmen wore military fatigues.
He added that police-led Mobile Forward Operating Base, which had been on intensive patrol of the entire area throughout Christmas, promptly responded to the scenario.
He said a Lexus SUV the gang used, and AK-47 rifle belonging to one of the slain personnel, were recovered, while an improvised explosive device found in the vehicle was recovered and defused.
“The CP Aderemi Adeoye had declared the weekend and Christmas holidays as special working days for all officers and men in the command,” the statement reads.
“He commended all personnel for their tireless and courageous effort in securing the people of Anambra State.
“The CP has urged all officers and men of Anambra State Police Command to redouble their efforts and remain vigilant while assuring that technology would be deployed to track down the criminals who unleashed the attack on police personnel.”
Ikenga said the CP has urged personnel in the command not to be demoralised by the supreme price paid by their colleagues, but to draw inspiration from their bravery in confronting the criminal gang.
The CP condoled with the families of the deceased officers, and Enugu state police command, and vowed that the personnel would not die in vain.
Adeoye called for calm and encouraged the people of Anambra not to allow the incident to create fear in their minds, but to continue with the various activities they had slated for the yuletide season.