SaharaReporters had reported that hoodlums attacked the INEC office at Amechi-Awkunanaw in the Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State on Sunday night and attempted to burn the office.

The Enugu State command of the Nigeria Police Force, says it has launched manhunt for hoodlums who attacked office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and killed an operative, while injuring another on Monday.

SaharaReporters had reported that hoodlums attacked the INEC office at Amechi-Awkunanaw in the Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State on Sunday night and attempted to burn the office.

Reacting to the incident in statement issued on Monday evening by the Command’s spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, the police said that the death of operative would never be in vain, while reassuring the command’s commitment to fortify INEC facilities and ensure peaceful 2023 elections in the state.

The statement partly read, “The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Ahmed Ammani, has ordered the discreet investigation and manhunt of the suspected IPOB/ESN renegades, who in their numbers attacked and attempted to set ablaze the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Office, at Amechi-Awkunanaw in Enugu South Local Government Area, on 15/01/2023 at about 9.15pm, but were resisted and repelled by Police Operatives on duty in the Office.

“In the ensuing gun duel, however, one of the resilient operatives sustained a fatal gunshot injury and was taken to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead, and his corpse deposited in the mortuary for preservation; while many of the hoodlums, who had used a suspected petrol bomb to set the security house ablaze, escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.

“The Commissioner, while restating the avowed commitment of the command to ensure that the deceased police officer did not pay the supreme price in the line of duty in vain, has reiterated that the police shall remain focused and intensify existing interagency collaboration towards the protection of INEC’s facilities and ensure the conduct of a peaceful and credible general elections in the state.

“The CP, therefore, enjoins citizens of the state, particularly owners of medical facilities, to quickly report anyone who presents a case of gunshot injury to the nearest police station.

“He also calls on them to remain vigilant and law-abiding, while assisting the police with necessary information and intelligence that will lead to the arrest of the fleeing assailants and their likes.”