Gunmen disguised in military camouflage took mobile policemen on guard duty by surprise in the early hours of Monday, December 13 when they stormed the Squadron 28 Police Mobile Force, PMF gate within the precincts of the Abia State police command headquarters in Umuahia in a gun truck.
It was learnt that the policemen had mistaken the armed men for military personnel as they drove towards the gate apparently in an attempt to gain access before suddenly opening fire on the unsuspecting cops.
In the process, a police Inspector identified as Friday Adams was said to have been shot dead by the invaders who reportedly zoomed off shortly afterwards.
The service rifle of the slain Inspector had yet to be found as of the time of filing this report amid fears that it might have been carted away by the gunmen suspected by the police to be members of a separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
Scudnews further learnt that the policeman shot dead was attached to the No.17 Squadron of the Police Mobile Force based in Akure, Ondo State, but was deployed on special duty to Abia State on Operation Restore Peace which was launched by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Baba to stabilize the security situation in the Southeast.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 1am on Monday, and the corpse of the slain police Inspector had been evacuated to the morgue at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Umuahia, according to a source.
