Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Attackers Engaged Policemen, Soldiers In A Shoot-out – Enugu CP

The Force headquarters said a special team set up by the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has prevented many attacks on innocent Nigerians by Fulani herdsmen.

It stated that the Special Intelligence Response Team, had foiled many violent attacks by bandits, including herdsmen, adding that many suspects had also been arrested and charged to court.


The Force Public Relations Officer, Bisi Kolawole, said this in response to inquiries about the incessant bloody attacks by Fulani herdsmen across the country.



“The Special Intelligence Response Team has arrested many herdsmen and other criminals, it has also foiled several attacks before they were carried out; this means the police are ahead of the criminals, but where you have attacks, our men have been deployed and investigation has commenced and it is a matter of time before we arrest the perpetrators,” she said.

Kolawole stated that the police authorities had strategised and put in place security measures to degrade the attackers, adding that the police would continue to arrest and prosecute all criminals across the country.

Commenting on the attack in Enugu in which about 20 people were allegedly killed by herdsmen, she said that the police had commenced investigation into the incident, noting that the Enugu State Commissioner of Police had deployed his men to the crime scene.

On the allegation that the command had prior information on the attack, but failed to foil it, Kolawole said she had no such report.

Meanwhile, the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Nwodibo Ekechukwu, has said that he deployed sufficient policemen in Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani local government, which was attacked on Monday.

The CP informed our correspondent over the telephone on Tuesday that the marauders engaged policemen and soldiers that were deployed in a shoot-out.

He explained that the intention of the attackers was to attack the centre of the town, noting that the security forces engaged them in a shoot-out and thwarted their plan to stage a massive attack.

Ekechukwu said, “We massively deployed policemen in Uzo-uwani when we got information that the place is under threat, anyone saying we didn’t deploy sufficiently would not have been on the ground and so cannot say what happened.

“Sufficient police officers were deployed, but the community is very vast; Nimbo is in Uzo-uwani Local Government Area and it has boundaries with Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue and Kogi States.

“Our men were supported by soldiers and they prevented the attackers from coming to the centre of the community. The attack took place at the fringe of the town and my men engaged the attackers in a shoot-out and prevented them from coming to the centre of the town which was their target.”

When asked if any of the attackers were arrested, the CP declined to comment, saying, “It’s an ongoing thing, it’s a process, so we want to be silent on that.”

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