A police inspector, Ahamba Njoku, has been shot dead by robbers in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia, the police said.
Police Public Relations Officer in Abia, Mr Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Aba yesterday.
He said that Njoku was killed at Omuma Road, Eziama, a suburb of Aba, by hoodlums on Thursday night about 11 p.m. during an exchange of gunfire while he was on a patrol with other policemen.
“The hoodlums accosted them while on patrol and opened fire, killing the inspector, who hailed from Obingwa Local Government Area of the state,’’ he said.
Ogbonna said that two policemen also sustained bullet injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment.
He said two of the robbers escaped with bullet wounds and abandoned the vehicle they used for the operation.
He said that the hoodlums on Wednesday snatched a Peugeot 307 saloon car belonging to a chief superintendent of police, which they used for the operation.
Ogbonna said the vehicle was recovered after it was abandoned by the robbers and that some expended magazines were found inside it.
He said that a full investigation into the incident had begun and urged the members of public, especially medical personnel, with information on any person with bullet wounds to report to the police.
“Every information will be handled secretly and the informant protected,’’ he promised.
Ogbonna said that the dismantling of checkpoints on the instruction of the inspector-general of police had nothing to do with the resurgence of armed robbery in Aba.