The slain inspector is the second police operative to be killed in the state within a week.
The police in Rivers State, South-south Nigeria have arrested 16 suspects in connection with the killing of an operative in the state.
The police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, who disclosed this in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday identified the slain officer as Christiana Erekere.
Mrs Iringe-Koko, a police superintendent, however, did not give the identities of the suspects.
The late Erekere, an inspector, is the second police operative to be killed in the state within a week.
PREMIUM TIMES last week reported how another inspector, Sunday Baba, was killed in the state by yet-to-identified gunmen.
How she was killed
According to the police spokesperson, the inspector was killed on Thursday around 4 p.m. while conducting a stop-and-search operation.
"According to preliminary investigations, the incident occurred when a group of individuals traveling in a Lexus salon car was stopped for routine checks at the checkpoint in front of Taabaa Police Station.
"However, the occupants became agitated and proceeded to barricade the road, obstructing the movement of other vehicles. After completing the necessary checks, the police officers requested that the individuals leave the scene.
"Unfortunately, they refused, alleging that Inspector Erekere had recorded a video of their disruptive behavior using her mobile phone," Mrs Iringe-Koko said.
The police spokesperson said the group launched a violent attack on the operative in an attempt to seize her phone, including stoning her, an assault she said caused the operative to lose consciousness.
"She was immediately transported to Nnadum Hospital in Bori. Regrettably, she succumbed to the injuries sustained during the attack," Mrs Iringe-Koko said.
Other killings
The oil-rich Rivers State has a history of attacks on police operatives.
This newspaper reported how seven operatives were killed in 2021 in the state by gunmen at two different police facilities in the state - three were killed in Elimgbu police station while two were murdered at the divisional police headquarters in Rumuji.
Two operatives were killed at an attack on a security checkpoint along the East-West Road, this newspaper had reported.
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In August last year, suspected gunmen also shot dead a police inspector in front of a hotel in the D/Line axis of the state capital, Port Harcourt and carted away his rifle.
Punch newspaper reported that the assailants drove in a Toyota Corolla, stopped in front of the hotel, and shot dead the operative before zooming off.
Also in August last year, Bako Angbashim, a superintendent of police who was the divisional police officer in charge of Ahoada East Local Government Area of the state, was beheaded by gunmen.
The slain officer was killed by suspected members of the Iceland cult group in Odemude, a community in the local government area. The attackers ambushed the officer, who along with his colleagues, was planning a raid on some criminal hideouts in the area, PREMIUM TIMES reported.
The leader of the cult group, Gift Okpara, known as 2Baba was later killed by the police about five months after.
