4 safety officers have been killed in a automotive bomb concentrating on a former authorities official in southeast Nigeria, authorities mentioned Tuesday.
Three cops and a paramilitary official have been killed within the assault in Imo State on a convoy carrying the previous governor Ikedi Ohakim, Police Commissioner Mohammed Barde mentioned.
“The person (Ohakim) was ambushed and he was capable of maneuver and escape,” mentioned Barde. The 4 safety personnel have been killed in a unique automotive, he mentioned. The assault was an unlucky setback to authorities efforts to revive peace in a few of Nigeria’s conflict-ridden southeastern states, mentioned Barde.
Southeast Nigeria has skilled an increase in violent assaults lately, usually blamed on separatists attempting to interrupt away from the West African nation to kind an unbiased nation. The separatists who establish themselves because the Indigenous Folks of Biafra have turn into extra violent amid requires a referendum. Their assaults usually goal distinguished individuals and safety forces within the southeast, say battle specialists.
A manhunt to arrest the assailants has begun, mentioned authorities.
The assault has raised fears amongst native residents who’re involved that safety will probably be threatened within the space in the course of the nation’s presidential elections in February.
The violence comes months after an ambush on a lawmaker within the southeastern Anambra State which killed 4 cops in September. After that incident final yr, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari mentioned he’s “deeply involved” in regards to the troubled area.
