Gunmen on Friday shot a mobile policeman and took his AK 47 rifle after they had confirmed that he was dead.
The gunmen were said to have waylaid a vehicle along Jakpa Road, in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State. The vehicle was supposed to be carrying a yet-to-be-identified personality that the mobile policeman was meant to protect when the incident happened.
A resident of the area where the incident happened, Obaro Okoro, who said it happened about 3.30 p.m. on Friday, disclosed that the slain policeman was shot repeatedly by the gunmen.
He said the development caused panic along the busy Jakpa Road as shop owners around the scene hurriedly locked up their shops while some vehicles had to make a quick u-turn.
Mr Okoro said the gunmen operated for at least 20 minutes and ensured that the mobile policeman was dead before they left the scene.
He said, “After killing the policeman, the gunmen, who were not masked, carted away the service AK 47 rifle. The gunmen waited until their target gave up the ghost before zooming off to an unknown destination with another vehicle.
“The slain policeman was in the vehicle of a yet-to-be-identified individual that he was detailed to protect, according to people around the scene of the incident. I understand that they stopped along the road to purchase some items when the gunmen struck.
“The person that he was meant to protect was not in the vehicle at that time. The incident forced residents and shop owners along the busy Jakpa Road to flee for safety.”
The crime rate in Effurun and Warri is said to have increased in recent times, a development that may have necessitated the setting up of a special security outfit codenamed Operation Delta Hawk by the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, on Thursday.
It learnt that no fewer than five mobile policemen have been killed and their arms carted away within the past two months in the state.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, a deputy superintendent of police, confirmed the incident.
She promised to get the details of the slain policeman but had yet to get back at the time of this report.
