No fewer than eight security agents comprising soldiers, policemen, and operatives of the Nigeria Security And Civil Defence Corps have been killed by gunmen in Imo State.
The incident occurred at about midday, when the Joint Task Force (JTF) operatives were ambushed at Umualumaku settlement in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo.
The deceased operatives were said to have arrived at the spot and getting set to mount a checkpoint when the gunmen ambushed and set them on fire in their operational vehicles.
An eyewitness account said that the assailants also set the two patrol vans belonging to the task force ablaze, together with the remains of the operatives.
“I heard gunshots for some minutes but didn’t know what was actually happening.
“Another driver told us that soldiers and policemen were killed and burnt in two Hilux Vans just a few meters ahead of us,” a commuter bus operator said.
It was gathered that motorists, who were plying the route, immediately began to make U-turn and diverted to other roads after the incident.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, ASP Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident but pleaded for time to get the full details of the gruesome murder.
