A police officer was killed and a patrol van was set on fire at a police checkpoint in Nsukka, Enugu State, on Friday.
According to a local source, the officer was killed in Nsukka’s Umanu junction, and the police patrol vehicle was set on fire along the Ibeagwa-Ani road.
An eyewitness in Umanu junction, who requested anonymity, said the incident occurred around 6:20 a.m., when sporadic gunshots were heard, and that the lifeless body of the police officer was seen after the gunmen left the area.
“I dashed to my doors, double-checking that they were all securely shut.” Because I thought it was armed robbers, I turned off all the lights in my house and told my wife and kids to stay quiet. “They said the policeman was killed during a gunfight between the police team on the checkpoint and the gunmen,” according to a resident.
An eyewitness to the Ibeagwa-Ani Road incident, where a police van was set ablaze, said he was on his way to Nkwo Ibeagwa-Ani Market in a commercial bus when they saw a police van on fire with five armed men watching it.
“Our driver quickly reversed and drove to a safer distance, where we stood and watched until the gunmen zoomed away, shooting sporadically.” When we arrived at the scene of the accident, the van had already burned to ashes, so we stopped for a few minutes like other road users before continuing our journey,” he explained.
