Three policemen have reportedly been shot dead after gunmen allegedly attacked Nsukwa Police Station in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, and razed the only police station in the remote agrarian community.
Sources told The Tide that three policemen were set ablaze by the gun-trotters, who launched the surprise attack from the back of the station, which is located at the edge of the town.
“The attackers stormed the station at about 2:00am, early hours of Sunday, May 16, 2021, shooting sporadically to ward off any challengers.
“It was the sporadic and intense shooting that woke many of us up from sleep. We were afraid because of the shooting. On our checks at dawn, we realized that the police station was attacked and burnt”, a resident in the agrarian community, who claimed anonymity, said.
The three deceased officers, whose names are yet to be released, are said to be an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), an Inspector of Police and a Police Corporal.
A source, who craved anonymity, said that the ASP hails from Kogi State, and was transferred to the station just two weeks ago, while the Inspector is from Orogun in Ughelli North LGA of Delta State.
Another source, an Okada rider, who plies between Nsukwa junction through Isheagu to Ogwashi-Ukwu on the Asaba-Ughelli Expressway, alleged that the station may have been attacked for reportedly giving tacit support to Fulani herdsmen, who had invaded the community’s forests in the last couple of years.
It was gathered that the Fulani herders literarily used Nsukwa forests as artery to access thousands of vast stretch of forests in Ossissa and Isheagu.
The Tide learnt that tension is reportedly high in Nsukwa and the adjoining communities over the incident, just as Delta State Police Command has sent reinforcement to the area while security operatives are now patrolling the town to curtail further attacks.
The South-East and South-South regions have been under siege in recent months with incessant attacks on security agencies and personnel.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bright Edafe, confirmed the report.
According to the PPRO, the state Commissioner of Police, Ari Mohammed Ali, has called for calm, and was also taking measures to forestall further breakdown of law and order.
He assured that the perpetrators of the heinous crime would be brought to book in no distant time.

By: Albert Ograka, Asaba