From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
There was pandemonium yesterday at Ihietutu, Ivo Local Government, Ebonyi State,when a policeman was shot dead and four persons injured when men of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps( NSCDC) clashed .
The incident which occurred as result of the mining pit collapse in Ihietutu in the area which led to the death of two persons last week.
During the fracas , residents and passersby ran for cover to avoid being killed by stray bullets.
Ebonyi state Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO), SP Joshua Ukandu,who confirmed the incident, said a team of policemen from the state command went to arrest some suspects over the mining pit collapse following a petition, when NSCDC officers confronted the policemen, preventing them from arresting the suspects.
“On August 27,2025, at about 4:00pm, operatives of the Command, acting on a petition, proceeded to Ivo LG to effect the arrest of suspects mentioned in the petition. On arrival, the officers properly identified themselves to the suspects in the presence of personnel of the NSCDC and soldiers providing security at a quarry facility where the suspects are engaged.
“The suspects willingly submitted themselves to the police operatives, and the soldiers on ground permitted the officers to proceed with the arrest.
“ However, in clear defiance of the law, the NSCDC team leader obstructed the process, ordering his men to block the police vehicle and insisted that the suspets would not be taken away.
“Despite appeals by the suspects themselves, who urged the NSCDC personnel to allow them follow the police to answer to the petition, the NSCDC officer refused and forcefully attempted to seize a rifle from one of the policemen. In the ensuing struggle, he discharged the firearm, fatally wounding a police officer.
“The injured officer was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead. The NSCDC officer responsible has since been arrested, while a full-scale investigation into the incident is ongoing”, he said.
Ukandu said no individual has the right to stop the police from discharging their constitutional duties and that the civil defence officer, who caused the incident, have been arrested.
“The Ebonyi State Command reiterates that no individual has the authority to obstruct the police in the lawful discharge of its constitutional mandate”.
