Tension gripped parts of Anambra State on Thursday following the killing of a police inspector during a late-night stop-and-search operation along the Onitsha/Owerri Expressway, near the Danaks Filling Station in Uli, Ihiala Local Government Area.
The Anambra State Police Command confirmed the tragic incident, revealing that the deceased officer, attached to the 29 Police Mobile Force, Awka, died in a shootout with suspected personnel of another security agency.
According to eyewitness accounts, the police patrol team had flagged down an unmarked Toyota Sienna vehicle allegedly driving against traffic. Unknown to the officers, the occupants—suspected to be operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS)—reportedly resisted the check and opened fire, fatally hitting the officer in the lower rib area.
“The unmarked Toyota Sienna emerged from a track road and was driving against traffic. When the police flagged it down, the occupants opened fire instead of complying,” said a hawker who witnessed the incident and requested anonymity.
The injured officer was rushed to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Ihiala and later transferred to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, where he was confirmed dead.
Spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, described the incident as “distressing,” noting that it was a case of mistaken identity between two “friendly forces.” He assured that the matter has been taken up by the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka for a thorough and discreet investigation.
“The police officer was fatally shot by operatives dressed in black and travelling in an unmarked vehicle—elements that raised suspicion and led to the unfortunate confrontation,” Ikenga explained.
He added that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has called for calm, pledging that all necessary protocols are being followed to uncover the truth and prevent similar tragedies in the future. The body of the deceased officer has been deposited in the morgue for autopsy.
This latest tragedy comes barely two weeks after a separate incident in which another police inspector, Okolie Amechi, was accidentally killed by his 10-year-old son who mistakenly discharged his father’s AK-47 rifle in Amansea, Awka.
Security in the state remains heightened as investigations continue.
