During the last three days, suspected armed separatists in southern Nigeria killed at least eight police officers. This is according to officials report on Monday. This is causing concern ahead of this weekend’s presidential election.
Tochukwu Ikenga, a local police spokesperson, claimed four officers were killed Monday in an Anambra police station attack. Officials looked for the suspects over the weekend, according to police.
After cops detonated explosives, gunmen opened fire on them. In addition, three of the assailants were killed and two were captured.
The police attributed the assaults to the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist organization pursuing independence in the south-eastern area.
Clashes
Officials have accused IPOB of inciting the violence that has taken so many lives in the war-torn area. It raised concerns that Nigerian security forces may not protect civilian voters during the elections.
Festus Okoye, an official of Nigeria’s Independent National Election Commission, said that security concerns may prevent the Electoral Commission from visiting certain voting locations.
“Security agencies pledged to secure our neighborhoods so that people could vote,” he said. “Yet, there is simply nothing we can do for the people living in conflict-ridden regions.”
