Armed men kill Delta policeman at checkpoint

A police Inspector, Jude Ukpaka, has been shot dead and his AK 47 rifle with unspecified rounds of ammunition stolen by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in the Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Ukpaka and two of his other colleagues of Dragon 19 attached to the Ughelli Area Command were at a checkpoint near the Evwreni axis of the East-West Road when the hoodlums attacked them on Wednesday.

The windshield of the Toyota Hilux patrol van of the Police Dragon 19 used by the policemen was riddled with bullets.

The incident was recorded barely two months after gunmen killed two policemen, Ujeyah Matthew and Sergeant Ijebu, attached to Ofuoma Police Division.

They were killed and their guns were reportedly stolen at the Ekredjebor community in the Ughelli North Local Government Area.

A trader who gave her name simply as Esther told journalists on Thursday that armed robbers attacked travellers returning from Bayelsa in the same area earlier in the morning of Wednesday before the evening’s incident.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, could not be reached for comments on the incident as of the time of filing this report on Thursday.

A security source, however, hinted that the other policemen at the checkpoint escaped into the swamp while Ukpaka was shot on the right side of his chest and died on the spot.

“They (the other policemen) ran into the swamp until they were rescued by a team from Ughelli Area Command, while the remains of the deceased policeman have been deposited at the mortuary,” the source stated, adding that one AK-47 with number 08266 and unspecified live ammunition were stolen by the assailants.