Unknown gunmen have killed three police officers in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State.

According to DailyPost, the incident happened along Nwezenyi road in Izzi local government area of the state on Wednesday night.

The assailants, who pretended to be conducting a burial rally opened fire on the police officers who were on duty.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ebonyi, DSP Loveth Odah, confirmed the report.

“They were inside three motorcycles, three tricycles and two Sienna buses. In the process of the police officers checking them, they opened fire and killed two of our men at the checking point.

“The other one we called them men at sentry, they actually shot at them and the deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations has gone to scene on spot assessment.

“Also, on Thursday last week, with same operational pattern at Umuoghara in Ezza North local government area of the state, some group opened fire on police officers but due to their smartness, our officers repelled them and arrested two and those two are helping the police,” she explained.

The corpses of the officers have been deposited at the morgue of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.

Recently, Ebonyi has recorded increase in attacks but is not peculiar to the state as gunmen have been on rampage in the South-East.