Gunmen have attacked operatives of the Inspector General of Police’s Special Intervention Squad (SIS) in Okigwe, Imo State, leaving one officer dead and others injured, just days before President Bola Tinubu’s scheduled visit to the state.
According to a police signal sighted by Sahara Reporters, the ambush took place around 9:00 a.m. on Sunday at the MRS fuel station in Abor Umulolo, Okigwe. The attackers, suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), reportedly opened fire on the squad.
At least three officers sustained gunshot wounds. They were rushed to hospital, where Inspector Umaru Mohammed was later confirmed dead.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the Imo State Police Command, DSP Henry Okoye, were unsuccessful as he neither answered calls nor replied to messages at press time.
The incident comes as security agencies heighten surveillance across the South-East ahead of President Tinubu’s visit to commission completed projects under Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration on Tuesday.
The attack underscores persistent insecurity in parts of Imo State, where police, military, and government facilities have faced repeated assaults in recent years, often linked to separatist groups.
Authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the latest violence.
