Armed men suspected to be separatist killed six persons, including four police officers, in Ebonyi state, southeastern Nigeria, according to police officials on Saturday.
Ebonyi State Police spokesperson Joshua Ukandu said the incident happened in the early hours of Friday near a police checkpoint on a road close to Abakaliki.
A heated battle ensued, resulting in the deaths of four officers and two civilians caught in the crossfire, Ukandu added.
The armed assailants remain at large and are believed to be
linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, which seeks a separate state for the Igbo ethnic group.
Although attacks in the southeast are mostly attributed to IPOB, the group consistently denies any involvement in violent activities.
President Bola Tinubu is concurrently battling violent insurgents in the Northeast, and armed groups labelled as “bandits” in the Northwest.
