Controversies have surrounded the Bayelsa and Delta states police commands following the killing of seven policemen in Ughelli, Delta State said to have been involved in armed robbery.
The officers whose ranks ranged from Sargent to corporal were reportedly gunned down during a fierce gun duel with operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, attached to the Delta State Police Command in Ughelli.
Reports say a police sergeant with the command in Bayelsa in charge of its armoury who allegedly supplied guns to the police robbery suspects was equally arrested and transferred to force headquarters in Abuja.
Police sources in Bayelsa claimed that the incident occurred on Wednesday last week, adding that the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Nkereuwem Akpan, led a team of officers to the Delta State Command to retrieve the bodies of the seven policemen.
While the commanders with the Bayelsa State police command refused to comment on the matter, sources within the command explained that the incident happened and threw the command into a state of turmoil.
A senior police officer with the command who did not want to be named described the development as embarrassing.