A police Inspector attached to the Imo State Command has shot dead four colleagues including a sergeant identified as Iseke Korodama and injured three police constables officers and their civilian driver in Imo State.
The inspector simply identified as Ekebata shot his colleagues on Wednesday midnight at Agwa- Ejemekwuru Road in the Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State after mistaking them for unknown gunmen.
The shooting comes days after hoodlums attacked the Agwa police station, killing four officers and setting vehicles at the station ablaze.
The command said it arrested eight alleged to have carried out the attack but residents said the arrested were Izombe residents attending Okorosha annual festival.
A police source who confirmed the shooting said that the inspector shot his colleague is from the Ambassador Unit of the Police Tactical Unit at the command headquarters but was on duty in Egbema, Punch reports.
“The victims are the operatives from the Surveillance team of the command headquarters. The attacking team is from the Ambassador Unit,” a source said.
It was gathered that the victims were riding in an unmarked vehicle when attacked.
Another source said, “It was an operational error. The offensive team mistook them to be criminals who were on their way to attack Ogboaku police station.”
A source said, “The policemen got a signal that a group of bandits were preparing an attack and were headed their way, so they positioned to intercept the hoodlums. So when an unmarked Mini-bus moving at night with heavily armed occupants came their way, they mistook them for the hoodlums and tried to demobilize them. That is what I heard until we see an official statement from the command.
A reliable source said that Inspector Iseke Korodama and the driver were rushed to the hospital the same Wednesday night. While the Inspector was pronounced dead on arrival, the driver was treated and allowed to go on Thursday.
Other casualties, Saviour Isong, Samuel Chukwuekezi, and Okija Darlington, came to the clinic on Thursday, were treated for their injuries, and discharged the same day.
