A source in the area said the policeman killed during the attack on Friday was the driver of one of the police vehicles.

The source said, “The hoodlums entered the community on Friday and lodged in a house close to the checkpoint. They broke a wall through which they entered the compound and forced the residents to open the gate to drive in their cars.

“They were also said to have collected the handsets belonging to the residents and forced them into a room and warned them not to raise the alarm failing which they would be shot.”

The latest attack is coming less than three weeks after some gunmen similarly attacked a police checkpoint on Omata-Nnobi Road in Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state, during which one police officer was also gunned down by the hoodlums, who also used an explosive device to launch the attack.

The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the attack.

Ikenga also disclosed that the situation was under control as there was an ongoing operation in the area on the directive of the state Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Itam.

He said, “It is true. One policeman was killed, and there is an operation going on in that area now, which the Commissioner of Police has ordered.

“This is a pure example of the highest price a security officer pays in discharging their duty. They were at the checkpoint monitoring the area before they came under attack by the gunmen.