The hoodlums also attacked the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the town, and destroyed electoral materials and burning down a police van in the compound. They have attacked the Divisional Police Command at Afuze, in Edo State and killed a Divisional Police Officer, DPO, a pregnant police woman and two others.
Afuze is the administrative headquarters of Owan East Local Government Area of Edo.
The incident occurred at about 8:00pm on Tuesday when many of the officers of the division had gone for outside duty.
The attackers killed the DPO and three other officers, including a pregnant woman police sergeant, who were on duty.
They also attacked the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the local government, where they set ablaze electoral materials and a police Hilux van in the compound.
The officers killed in the attack are, Tosimani Ojo (the DPO of the station), Sergeant Justina Aghomon, Inspector Sado Isaac and Corporal, Glory David.
An Eyewitness, Mr. Godwin Ikpekhia, said: “We only had gunshots and nobody knew what happen until this morning.
“The divisional police officer with three other officers who were on duty were killed on the spot inside the building.
“The hoodlums didn’t stop at that; they went to the INEC office and were shooting sporadically in order to attack men who were on duty.
“Election materials and police van in INEC office were burnt down by the hoodlums.”
The Edo Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammed Dan-Mallam, who visited the scene of the incident, said that investigation would commence immediately.
Dan-Mallam vowed that those responsible for the attack would be brought to book.
“Urgent steps will be taken to curb the increasing cases of criminality in Owan axis of the state,” he said.
Attack on officers and men of the Nigeria police has become a regular occurrence in Owan.
It would be recalled that on the 14th of July last year, four police officers were attacked at a check point in the area, killed and their remains burnt and put inside their patrol Hilux van.
Also, on the 23th of January this year, the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly candidate for Owan West, Mr. Ohio Ezomo, was kidnapped while his police orderly was killed on the spot.
Reacting, the governor who visited the station alongside the Commissioner of Police in Charge of the 2019 elections in Edo, CP DanMallan Mohammed, condemned the act.
Obaseki said that the act was totally criminal and unacceptable.
He assured the people that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
“This level of criminality and gruesome murder of police officers is quite worrisome.
“I am going to make sure the culprits are found and we will get to the bottom of this,” he said.
He added that a section of the station that was destroyed would be rebuilt while the state government would render assistance to the families of the victims.
Also, the CP said that four police personnel were murdered, part of the station destroyed while three vehicles: two at the station and one at INEC office close to the station were burnt.
He said that three out of the five suspects freed during the operation had been re-arrested while nine improvised explosive devices (IUDs): five at the police station and four at INEC office were recovered.
Mohammed said that the incident was being investigated while he encouraged the people in the locality to go about their normal lives.
“We are at the first stage of investigation and we cannot say for now the motive behind the attack.
“We believe in community policing and we are doing what we can to get useful information from the members of the public to get to the bottom of the case,” he said.
The CP said that the property (arms and ammunition of the police) at the divisional office were not taken away during the operation.
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