Two mobile police officers were on Monday shot dead in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
On Tuesday morning, the police announced the arrest of nine suspects connected to the murder.
The mobile police are considered a specialised unit within the Nigerian Police Force and are believed to be better trained and equipped than the conventional police.
The spokesman of the command, Nnamdi Omoni, in a statement on Tuesday said the arrest was made barely 12 hours after the command declared a manhunt on the alegged suspects.
“The Rivers State Police Command less than 24 hours after the tragic killing of two mobile policemen at Ojoto Street in Mile 1 Diobu, PH, arrested nine suspects, who are currently being investigated in connection with the dastardly act.
“Their arrest was made possible barely 12 hours after the Commissioner of Police, CP Usman A. Belel, issued a marching order to all the commanders of the tactical units to arrest with immediate effect the perpetrators of the heinous crime.
“The suspects arrested are currently being interrogated and will be made to bear the full weight of law if found complicit,” the spokesperson said.
The police appealed for credible information from the public not just to apprehend the killers but also tackle other criminal gangs terrorising the state.
The two policemen were escorting a bullion van around Ojoto-Timber, Mile Two, Diobu, Port Harcourt when they were shot at close range by suspected robbers, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
They were in a Toyota Camry saloon car when the criminals attacked them Monday afternoon.
The gunmen also escaped with an unspecified amount of cash and the rifles of the policemen
The armed men operated without any challenge and they quickly escaped amid sporadic gunshots into the air to scare residents and passersby.
Several minutes after the criminals had escaped, some policemen arrived at the scene. They removed the bodies of their colleagues from the car.
Apart from the Rivers incident, PREMIUM TIMES reported how four police officers were also killed in neighbouring Bayelsa State on Monday.
In the Bayelsa incident, the attackers stormed the police station, killing the divisional police officer and three others.
They also stole some weapons from the police station.
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