TheCable

Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo, has asked police officers in the state to use their rifles to defend themselves against criminals.

Uzodinma spoke on Tuesday when Mohammed Adamu, inspector general of police (IGP), visited the state to assess damages caused by the attacks on the federal prison and state police command headquarters.

TheCable had reported how the two facilities were attacked by gunmen who freed over 1,500 prisoners in the early hours of Monday.

Some police vehicles were also razed in the incidents which the police had blamed on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Uzodinma described the incidents as “an attack on the integrity of the government.”

He said: “If you can’t attack them, you can at least use your rifles to defend yourselves. Any attack on police formation is an insult to us as a government. We must take charge, take control and ensure discipline.

“We must not condone attacks by criminals on government. Police must not be compromised so that the integrity of government will remain intact,”

“This unfortunate tragedy can only be condemned by every reasonable mind, the intention was to put fear into our people and make them vulnerable.”

The governor also said he has commissioned a detailed investigation into the attack “in a bid to finding out the perpetrators and masterminders of this ugly incident, luckily for us, no life was lost.”

“I can assure you that my government working with security agencies shall rise to the occasion to get to the end of the matter,” he added.