FG talks tough, says IPOB/ESN members will not escape justice for abducting, beheading police officers

The Federal Government has condemned the recent murder of two policemen in the South-East, warning that those who carried out the killings will be apprehended and brought to justice. Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, gave the assurance during a press conference in Lagos on Monday. Although the Anambra State Police Command had said two officers were attacked in the state over the weekend and their bodies burnt afterward, Mohammed, however, was not specific if the November 27 attack was the same as that which took place in Anambra. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Segun Adeyemi, the Minister described the abduction of three policemen and the killing of two of them as the most horrific and barbaric, saying it was an unacceptable attack against the state. “We have credible information that ASP Francis Idoko (AP No. 154945); Inspector Emmanuel Akubo (AP No. 222336) and Inspector Rufai Adamu (AP. No. 285009), all serving officers of the Nigeria Police, were abducted by members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), acting on the instructions of their leader, Chinonso Okafor, aka TEMPLE, on 27 November 2021,” the Minister said. “Two of the officers, Inspectors Akubo and Adamu, were killed in the most gruesome manner and their decapitated bodies videotaped and circulated widely. The leader of the ESN team that killed the two officers is one ‘GENTLE’. “Chinonso Okafor, the most influential commander of ESN in charge of Imo and Anambra States, as well as ‘Gentle’ and all those who perpetrated the abhorrent act will be made to face swift and sure justice.” He noted that the targeting and killing of security agents, under any guise, is a direct attack on the state and will not be tolerated. The Minister wondered why those calling for a political solution to the IPOB issue have yet to condemn the appalling murder of serving police officers. He equally paid tribute to the officers, who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of their fatherland, as well as all security agents who are serving the nation to the best of their abilities in a most difficult moment. Mohammed condoled with the families of the slain officers, praying that God will comfort and strengthen them.