At Agbani, the seat of the state's Nkanu West Local Government Area, three police officers of the Enugu State Command were shot and killed by unidentified assailants.

According to information obtained by Naijacrawl, the incident happened early on Saturday at a roundabout close to the Agbani Divisional Police Station.

The attackers saw the police officers as they were performing stop-and-search operations and opened fire as soon as they saw them, killing the three security personnel.

Less than 24 hours prior to the attack, gunmen killed Chief Gabriel Onuzulike, a former state commissioner, and his elder brother in their Nkpokolo-Achi hometown. Chief Onuzulike also served as the chairman of the Oji-River Local Government.

A joint Police/Army team was able to intercept and neutralize two attackers after receiving a distress call about the incident, according to the State police command.

This was disclosed by Daniel Ndukwe, the state police spokesman.

He said the team recovered an AK-47 rifle with two magazines loaded with ammunition, a Toyota Land Cruiser Jeep belonging to the deceased victims, a Toyota Camry car and a RAV4 Jeep.

Part of his statement read: “Pending the receipt of a detailed report, kindly be informed that the preliminary report reveals that two (2) of the assailants, said to have infiltrated into Oji-River from a neighboring Anambra State community, in the evening hours of November 18, 2022, attacked and murdered one Gabriel Onuzulike (identified as former Chairman of Oji-River LGA and Commissioner in Enugu State Government) and his brother at Nkpokolo-Achi in Oji River, were neutralized by a Joint Police/Army Team, who swiftly responded to a distress call on the incident and intercepted the hoodlums at Inyi community of the same LGA, as they were escaping into Anambra State,”

Meanwhile, the chase for the assailants, many of whom escaped into a nearby forest, is ongoing, he added.