Gunmen on Saturday night attacked a police patrol team conducting stop-and-search operations in Nigeria’s southeastern city of Enugu, killing at least two officers, residents and security sources said.
The attack occurred around 9 p.m. at Osondu Bus Stop on Zik Avenue in the Uwani area of the city, where assailants opened fire on officers stationed at the location. One officer was shot dead while driving the patrol vehicle, which was later set ablaze, while another died during a gun battle that followed, the sources said.
Video footage circulating on social media on Sunday showed a police patrol van engulfed in flames. The Enugu State Police Command did not respond to requests for comment.
In a separate development, the death of a 19-year-old, Nnamdi Chidi, in Agunese Mmaku community in Awgu Local Government Area has triggered conflicting accounts and prompted calls for an independent investigation by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC).
According to one version presented by civil society advocate Onuseluogu Birinus Nevobasi, Chidi died from injuries allegedly sustained during an attack on the family home of a police officer following an earlier arrest linked to an investigation by officers from the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja. That account said an autopsy later established a prima facie case of murder, leading to the arrest of a suspect and a recommendation for prosecution.
Nevobasi and other advocates allege that the case was later withdrawn by the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit, which they say introduced counter-allegations of cyberbullying and character assassination against those advancing claims of homicide.
The IGP Monitoring Unit has rejected those claims, citing a video statement by the teenager’s mother in which she reportedly said no assault occurred and that her son died from natural causes related to a pre-existing medical condition. The unit said its involvement was aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the investigation and dismissed the murder allegations as false.
The unit also said those making the homicide claims declined to cooperate with its inquiry and instead sought court orders to limit police questioning.
