The attack occurred during the visit of the newly appointed Commissioner of Police, Danjuma Aboki, to his officers in Mbaise.
Our correspondent gathered that on arrival, the attackers opened fire on the cops who were in uniform.
They killed two policemen on the spot, while a stray bullet killed a passerby.
The source said, “Two policemen have been killed now at Ahiara Junction. On arrival, the gunmen opened fire at the direction of the policemen and killed two on the spot. A stray bullet also hit a young man and he died on the spot.
“The video clips of the lifeless bodies of the victims are circulating online. This is very unfortunate.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, said that the command had declared a manhunt for the fleeing suspects.
He said, “The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma, Commander 34 Artillery Brigade and Joint Task Force operatives are combing the scene of the crime for evidence that will possibly lead to the arrest of hoodlums responsible for the attack and killing of two policemen at Ahaira Junction, in Ahaizu Mbaise LGA of Imo State.”
Our correspondent saw video clips of the lifeless bodies of the policemen and the civilian.
On Saturday evening, the lifeless body of the traditional ruler of the Otulu autonomous community in the neighbouring Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA, Eze Joe Ochulor, was found in the neighbouring Aboh Mbaise LGA.
The body was found on the roadside on Saturday evening after the monarch was kidnapped from his palace on Saturday morning.
Also, a few days earlier, the ward chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Ife/ Akpodim/Chokoneze ward in the Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of the state, Chiedoziem Anyanwu, was assassinated in the presence of his wife.