Suspected gunmen on Friday launched an attack on the Okehi Area Command of the Nigeria Police at Eika-Ohizenyi in the Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State killing one Mr Jibril, identified as a police inspector on duty.
The latest attack was the second in less than one month as the Adavi Police Station came under attack in early June in which three police officers were killed.
It was gathered that the gunmen numbering seven allegedly stormed the station on the outskirts of the community at about midnight on Friday and opened fire on the station before destroying a part of the building with a bomb.
A resident in the area, Momoh Abubakar, told City Round that the attackers invaded the station at 12:15 am, adding that the first bomb they threw into the station made a heavy sound that woke many residents up. He added that the second bomb brought down part of the station’s building.
Abubakar added that the attackers operated for more than two hours without any interference from security agents or residents in the community.
He also said that Jibril, who was the only officer on duty, was killed in the process while the only operational vehicle in the police station was destroyed.
It was learnt that the corpse of the slain cop was taken to Obangede General Hospital mortuary.
Abubakar, however, said the bullets perforated windows of the Eika community central mosque and a Catholic church near the police station during the attack.
He added, “I use this medium to appeal to security agents to be proactive and respond quickly to this type of incident because the gunmen spent more than two hours operating freely without any interference. The first attack of the station occurred on Friday and this second one which happened after five years also took place on Friday and to our surprise, nobody has been arrested in connection with the attack.
“People in the Eika community remained indoors for fear of being attacked by gunmen. We appeal to the government to beam its searchlight in this area because the attack is becoming unbearable.’’
The state police spokesperson, SP William Ovye Aya, in a statement on Friday said the Commissioner of Police, Edward Egbuka, who visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment, ordered the deployment of additional operational assets to restore normalcy in the area.
He added that the CP ordered the commencement of investigation into the incident to unravel the cause and bring the perpetrators to book.
