fire on the police patrol van before leaving the area. Residents who spoke to Channels Television, said the incident took place around 8:30 am when officers from the Awada Divisional Police Station were conducting stop-and-search in the area considered as a flash point. During the attack, the officer, a tricycle rider and a resident of the area lost their lives. The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tochukwu Ikenga in a press release also confirmed the attack. Tochukwu said that “in a bid to escape the police responding team, the hoodlums set the patrol vehicle ablaze.” Other officers were wounded in the attack, he said, explaining that patrol and surveillance within the area and Onitsha have been intensified with a view to fish out and arrest the perpetrators.