A day after gunmen attacked the Police Command Headquarters in Owerri, a group of armed men invaded another police facility in the state on Tuesday.
The latest attack was carried out on the Divisional Police Headquarters in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area – just about an hour-and-a-half drive from the state capital.
Sources said the gunmen, who came in buses and in a large number, arrived at the police station and freed all the suspects in detention before setting the building ablaze.
Reacting to the attack, the Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Orlando Ikeokwo, said: “Ehime Mbano Division has just been attacked, no casualty on the part of Police, no loss of arm, three vehicles burnt.”
Also yesterday, Governor Hope Uzodinma, asked police officers in the state to use their arms to defend themselves against criminals.
Uzodimma gave the charge when the immediate past Inspector General of Police,IGP, Mohammed Adamu, visited the state yesterday to assess the damage caused by the attacks on the federal prison and state police command headquarters.
This is even as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo asked the people of the state to resist attempt by hoodlums to destabilise the state, describing the attackers as cowards.
Uzodimma, who described the attack on government institutions in the state, including the Prisons and Police command headquarters as an attack on the integrity of the government, said: “If you can’t attack them, you can at least use your rifles to defend yourselves. Any attack on the police formation is an insult to us as a government. We must take charge, take control and ensure discipline.
“We must not condone attacks by criminals on government. Police must not be compromised so that the integrity of government will remain intact. This unfortunate tragedy can only be condemned by every reasonable mind. The intention was to put fear into our people and make them vulnerable.”
The governor also said he had commissioned a detailed investigation into the attack in a bid to finding out the perpetrators and masterminds of the ugly incident.
“Luckily for us, no life was lost. I can assure you that my government working with security agencies, shall rise to the occasion to get to the end of the matter,” the governor said.