Silhouette of kidnappers

By Leonard Okachie

Some suspected gunmen on early hours of Monday set ablaze the Ubakala Divisional Police Station in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia and killed two policemen.

The spokesman for the Police Command in Abia, SP Godfrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia.

Ogbonna said the hoodlums attacked the station around 12.10 a.m., with explosives.

According to him, the operatives, who were deployed to reinforce security at the station, tried to repel the assailants.

“In the process, we lost two of our men,” he said, pointing out that the number of the attackers had yet to be ascertained.

A resident of the area who spoke anonymously, said the midnight attack caused serious panic among residents of the community.

“We were asleep when suddenly we began to hear serious gunshots.

“Everybody in my house was woken up by the sound and then came an explosion, followed by fire,” the eyewitness said.

NAN reports that gunmen have recently carried out successful attacks on police stations in Aba, Isialangwa, Uzuakoli and Nkporo.

They also attacked the offices of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and Independent National Electoral Commission in Ohafia.

Meanwhile, police said no arrest had been made but that full investigations were ongoing to get the perpetrators of the attacks, which had left many of its men either dead or with gunshot wounds.