Two persons have been shot dead and others wounded following an open fire action by armed policemen on the headquarters of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Owerri, Imo State.
The shooting of the NSCDC Headquarters by police operatives happened on Monday evening.
TheFact Nigeria gathers from an anonymous source that the police action followed the arrest and detention of a policeman in the NSCDC custody on the orders of the State Commandant of the Corps.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, said that the policeman disrupted the convoy of the State Commandant on Sunday, 24 April, as he was returning from a trip to Abaezi in Ohaji/Egbema LGA, where an explosion in an illegal refinery located in a forest claimed no fewer than 100 lives.
According to the source, the traffic altercation occurred at the Control Post Owerri but the policeman who was dressed in mufti and drove in an unmarked vehicle trailed the convoy to the NSCDC office necessitating the Commandant to order his detention.
“Policemen came here this evening to rescue one of their own who was arrested for breaking into the convoy of the NSCDC Commandant on Sunday. On arrival, they opened fire and beat up the female corps at the Command. Two persons died in the process while others were injured.”
A businessman, who operates his outfit in the area and who also spoke on strict grounds of anonymity, said, “The shooting spree is between the police and NSCDC personnel. I understand that a police officer was arrested for a yet to be ascertained infraction and detained by NSCDC officers. I also learnt that he alerted his colleagues and they stormed NSCDC.
“The invading police officers ought to have chosen a more civilized approach in resolving whatever was the issue, instead of taking laws into their hands. I expect the State Commissioner of Police to fish out the fellows that attacked the NSCDC Headquarters and punish them appropriately”, he said.
The spokesperson for the police, CSP Michael Abattam, had yet to comment on the incident as at the time of this report.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed gory pictures have started trending online, which was alleged to be the consequence of the shooting in Owerri.
A young boy was seen in a pool of his own blood, while the second had his leg shattered.
