It’s more worry for the residents of Imo State as the insecurity rate appears to be on the rise as a result of continued attacks on police facilities in the state. A day after gunmen attacked the Police Command Headquarters in Owerri, a group of armed men invaded another police facility in the state on Tuesday. The latest attack was carried out on the Divisional Police Headquarters in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area – just about an hour-and-a-half drive from the state capital. Sources said the gunmen, who came in buses and in a large number, arrived at the police station and freed all the suspects in detention before setting the building ablaze. Police authorities in the state confirmed the incident to Channels Television, although they insisted that the armoury at the station was intact. “Ehime Mbano (Police) Division has just been attacked, no casualty on the part of the police, no loss of arms, three vehicles burnt,” Orlando Ikeokwu who is the Police Public Relations Officer said in a text. On Monday, gunmen attacked the Police Command Headquarters in the state where they burnt almost all the vehicles parked there. The attack, carried out in the early hours of Monday, happened at a time when gunmen also invaded the Owerri Custodial Centre, freeing hundreds of inmates serving various jail terms. Authorities of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) put the figure of inmates who fled the correctional facility at 1,844. They, however, noted that six of the fleeing inmates voluntarily returned to the facility while 35 others refused to escape from custody. The incident was condemned by the Federal Government and the state government, as well as various individuals and groups in the country. Mohammed Adamu, who was the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) at the time of the attacks, ordered the immediate deployment of additional units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) and other police tactical squads to Imo. He stated that this was important to strengthen security in the state and prevent further attacks on security formations or any other critical national infrastructure in the state. The former police chief had also directed the Commissioner of Police in Imo and a new Special Investigation Team to carry out holistic investigations into the incident, with a view to arresting and bringing the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. A day after the incident, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, as well as the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and Adamu visited Imo for an on-the-spot assessment of the attacked facilities. But the attack on the police station in Ehime Mbano is said to have occurred barely three hours after the vice president, the minister, and the former police chief left the state.

Two mobile police officers were shot dead by some gunmen, Monday night, while on duty at a checkpoint in Dogongawa, along KatsinaAla-Takum road in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State. Same Monday night, two soldiers attached to the joint military operation were feared missing in an ambush by suspected bandits at Bonta community in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue state. Confirming the death of the two mobile policemen, chairman of Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State, Shiban Tikari, said: “The gunmen came on motorcycles, through the back of the Central Primary School, Dogongawa. “They opened fire on the two policemen, killed them and took away their rifles.” At press time, spokesman of the state police command, DSP David Misal, was yet to confirm the report. Meanwhile, Chairman, Konshisha Local Government Area, Benue State, Mr James Jirgba, yesterday, confirmed the attack on soldiers attached to the joint military operation codenamed Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, Monday evening. He said the incident happened at a border community between Konshisha and Oju local government areas. It was gathered that two soldiers attached to the joint military operation were feared missing after they were ambushed by suspected bandits at Bonta community, Konshisha Local Government Area, LGA of Benue State. Some of the soldiers also sustained injuries in the attack. Vanguard gathered that the missing soldiers were part of the team on routine patrol in Konshisha and neighbouring Oju LGAs when they ran into the ambush by the bandits, who are known as Bonta boys. According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, “the Bonta boys attacked the soldiers because they entered the community and removed the illegal roadblocks they mounted within the community. “So when they saw the troops undertaking their routine patrols of the area on Monday at about 5 pm, they opened fire on them. “The patrol team engaged the bandits in a gunfight and also quickly called for reinforcement but before their arrival, the gunmen fled with both sides sustaining injuries. “The OPWS troops, who spent the night in the community, are currently on the trail of the bandits and are combing the entire community in search of the missing soldiers and the bandits. “We believe the attack was carried out probably to intimidate the troops, who are doing a great job in the state.” The OPWS Force Commander, Major-General Adeyemi Yekini, could not be reached on the phone and text messages sent to his phone were not responded to.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has condemned the attacks on the federal prison and police command headquarters in Owerri, Imo state. Some inmates were freed when gunmen attacked the correctional centre on Monday, while buildings and vehicles were razed when the police headquarters was invaded. The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) had said over 1,800 inmates escaped from custody, while the police accused members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being behind the attacks. During his visit to the affected facilities on Tuesday, the vice-president condemned the jailbreak which he said led to the release of “dangerous criminals”, adding that the search for the escaped inmates “has begun in earnest”. “An attack on the critical institutions of law enforcement, police stations and prisons is an attack on the safety, security and well being of the citizens. “It is not merely an attack on law and order. It is a mindless attack on the people and the way of life of the people. When you attack police stations and free dangerous criminals, you put women, men, children and their possessions and livelihoods at risk,” he said. “It is in this beautiful land, that our county learned an enduring lesson on the futility of violence. But there are those who believe that to resolve issues and conflicts other than by violence is cowardliness. “If the voices of their hatred prevails we will experience the terrible and fruitless loss of life that violence begets. Our system is not perfect, and we can seek to perfect it. “There is no earthly system that is perfect, but what democracy and the institutions of democratic governance provide, are channels, however imperfect for seeking redress for injury, for peacefully addressing the problems that ail us. “There are many who are working tirelessly everyday to improve our system, to build up and to enhance it. We must therefore, reject the agents of anarchy that seek to weaponise the frustration and discontent of young people, for their own profit. “The path of violence can only lead to disaster, that consumes everyone, at least to the desolation of our communities. It is easy to take peace for granted, but we need not learn the value of peace through the horrible crucible of war.” Osinbajo, however, assured Imo residents that security presence has been enhanced to ensure that peace reigns in the state.