The Imo State Police command says members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, Eastern Security Network (ESN) are behind the attacks on facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Imo State.
The Police made this claim after INEC office was attacked and burnt by gunmen at the weekend.
The state police spokesperson, Mike Abattam, who made this claim in Owerri on Sunday, said the operatives on duty, however, repelled the attack on the Oru West INEC office.
He said the gunmen threw Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) into the office from outside the fence.
“The police operatives who engaged the hoodlums professionally inflicted various degrees of injuries on them. Having suffered a huge defeat, the hoodlums retreated, escaping in their vehicle and were given a hot chase by the operatives.
“In the course of their escape, the explosives fell on the Conference Room of the INEC office and caused minor damages to some of the furniture and windows. No life was lost,” he added.
He said that while the investigation was ongoing, efforts were in top gear to arrest the fleeing suspects.
Abattam appealed to all and sundry to assist the police with credible information and to report any person seen treating bullet wounds or hiding within their communities to the nearest police station or call the command’s control room emergency numbers: 08034773600 or 08098880197.
