Gunmen have reportedly killed a policeman and injured another at a checkpoint in Bayelsa State.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the gunmen attacked the officers around Famgbe community in the Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state on Saturday.
As at the time of reportage, the motive behind the attack has not been ascertained.
However, a security source informed newsmen that the policemen were carrying out a routine stop-and-search operation in the area when they came under ambush by the gunmen.
The security source said the police patrol was sequel to intelligence indicating an increase in violent crimes along the Famgbe-Ayama axis of the Yenagoa suburbs.
According to the security source, who spoke in confidence, the policemen engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel, which forced them to escape into the bush.
But the deceased officer fell to the bullets of the assailants while another was wounded in the gunfire exchange.
A police source confirmed the incident, saying one officer was killed, another wounded while a child, who was also scratched by a bullet, was stabilized at a clinic.