Gunmen Kill Three Policemen In Rivers, Injure Three

THREE policemen were killed during a fierce gun battle with a group of unknown gunmen, who attacked the Port Harcourt residence of the Special Adviser to the Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Jerry Needam.

The policemen were said to have responded to a distress call by Needam, who was said to be the main target of the hoodlums.

It was gathered that the incident which happened in the wee hours of Tuesday, was the third within a year, just as the victim (Needam) described it as politically -motivated.

The State Police Public Relations Office, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, confirmed the death of the three policemen.

Though Mohammad did not identify the three officers, he stated that they (the slain officers) died while trying to avert mayhem at the scene of a shootout with hoodlums who Nedam alleged were sponsored by his political opponents to assassinate him.

However, a statement released from Needam’s office on Tuesday, said that he was the target of the attack.

The statement partly read, “The Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Jerry Needam, in the early hours of Tuesday, December 22, 2015 escaped a kidnap and an assassination attempt.

“The incident which is the third highly organised politically-motivated plot on his life, occurred at his residence in Port Harcourt, during which scores of armed men engaged the police in a fierce gun battle, leaving the compound, rooms and vehicles riddled with bullets.

“Reports said the daredevil men stormed his residence in the wee hours of Tuesday and shot sporadically to gain entrance into the compound.

“During the incident, which lasted for over two hours, Mr. Needam was said to have put a distress call to the police who promptly arrived his residence and engaged the gunmen in a fierce gun battle.

“At the end of the battle, three of the gallant police officers, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police lost their lives while two other police officers and Mr. Needam’s security guard, who suffered serious gunshot injuries are now receiving treatment at a private hospital in Port Harcourt.”