Gunmen have reportedly killed three police officers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria’s Southeast.

The officers were gunned down on Monday night in front of a police station along the Enugu-Abakaliki highway, a source said.

The officers were said to be manning a roadblock in front of the station when the gunmen opened fire on them.

The source said the gunmen were in a bus, and that the officers may have mistaken it for a commercial vehicle.

“The remains of the three police (officers) have been deposited at a mortuary in Abakaliki after they were confirmed dead by doctors,” he said.

The police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Loveth Odah confirmed the incident.

She, however, said she could not give details of the casualty until after a visit to the scene of the incident.

Several police officers were shot dead in Enugu State in two separate attacks at checkpoints last week by gunmen.

The Ebonyi incident may indicate a return of the deadly attacks on the police and other security agencies in the Southeast.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for it, the attack may be linked to the outlawed group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which is leading the agitation for an independent state, Biafra, which they want carved out of the Southeast and a part of the South-south regions.

IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is detained in Abuja, where he is standing trial for alleged treasonable felony and terrorism.

PT