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Two staff of the Nigeria Correctional Services, NCS, attached to Ekwulobia Prisons in Anambra State were on Friday killed by unknown gunmen.
The men were alleged to have been attacked and killed while escorting a van conveying inmates of the prison to the court for hearing at about 11am.
It would be recalled that two policemen and some naval personnel were also killed by unknown gunmen, the previous day in two locations in the state, with their arms carted away, while a police van was set ablaze.
It was gathered that at about 4am on Friday, a police station in the same Ekwulobia was attacked by gunmen but the attack was quickly repelled by officers on duty.
Ekwulobia station is among the police stations razed during the EndSARS protest and was recently rebuilt.
The Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Command of the Nigeria Correctional Centre, Mr Francis Ekechukwu confirmed the attack, saying the command was devastated by the news of the attack.
He said the gun duel that lasted for about 10 minutes was reportedly perpetrated by suspected hoodlums in two vehicles, a sienna bus and a a hilux pick-up that trailed the court duty Vehicle from the court premises.
According to him, although the armed escort put up a gallant resistance, he was unfortunately overpowered by the hoodlums who came in their numbers with sophisticated weapons.
“You know this (attack) has been on for sometime now, but we never envisaged it will get to us. Yes, there was an attack on our men, and two persons were killed. One of them is our staff, but the other is not.
“We are still investigating. We will issue a press release about this soon, but for now, we are trying to unravel how it happened and to go after the criminals. It was a gun duel, but two people were killed as a result,” Ekechukwu said.
He also confirmed the attack on Ekwulobia station but added that the men on duty overpowered the attackers, causing them to flee.
Meanwhile, the body of the fallen officer has been deposited in the mortuary awaiting further necessary action.
The state Controller, Nwakeze Emmanuel while expressing his deep shock over the incident, has advised the public and indeed officers and men of the Command to remain calm as investigations have commenced with the collaboration of other security agencies.
He appealed to members of the public to avail security agencies with useful intelligence that will lead to the arrest of those behind the dastardly act.