A fresh wave of violence hit Imo State on Sunday as gunmen attacked motorists in Amala, Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area, killing a driver and abducting several travellers.
The Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday.
According to him, the assailants emerged from a nearby bush around 5:50 pm, opened fire on a Toyota Highlander SUV, and fatally shot its driver.
They then proceeded to abduct all occupants of another vehicle, a Lexus SUV.
“Upon receiving the information, officers from the Ngor-Okpala Division swiftly mobilised to the scene, secured the area, and evacuated the victim to a hospital, where he was confirmed dead,” Mr Okoye stated.
He did not disclose the number of persons abducted.
Mr Okoye added that the Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, has ordered an immediate manhunt for the perpetrators.
A combined team of police officers, other security agencies, and vigilante operatives has begun extensive bush-combing operations around the Amala forest axis in an effort to track down the kidnappers and rescue the victims.
He urged residents to remain calm and assist with useful information that could aid the ongoing search.
The attack occurred just days after the governors of Abia and Imo States, Alex Otti and Hope Uzodimma, launched a joint security taskforce to tackle rising insecurity along the Aba–Owerri Expressway, which connects both states.
According to Ferdinand Ekeoma, media aide to Governor Otti, the joint taskforce was established during an emergency security meeting held at the Imo State Government House, Owerri.
The team comprises military personnel, police officers, operatives of the State Security Service, and other security agencies, with a mandate to conduct surveillance from Owerrinta in Abia to Owerri and adjoining areas.
The initiative followed an attack, two days earlier, on three security aides attached to Governor Otti in Owerri.
Imo State, like much of the South-east, has witnessed a troubling escalation in violent crime, including attacks by kidnappers, armed robbers, cult groups, and separatist militants.
Several government officials, security agents, and civilians have been targeted in recent months.
Hundreds have been killed, injured, or abducted during these incidents across the region.
The federal government continues to blame the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for many of the attacks, an allegation the group has repeatedly denied.
IPOB, which is campaigning for the creation of an independent Biafran state, has seen its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, recently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
