He was murdered on Saturday night on Owerri- Port Harcourt Road in Owerri, this was discovered on Monday.

A senior officer of NIS, who confirmed to our correspondent, said the slain officer’s corpse was discovered in a bush on Sunday morning.

Mrere was riding a Hilux van belonging to NIS when he was allegedly waylaid, shot and killed.

The source told our correspondent that the assailants did not take the victim’s service pistol as it was found on him when his corpse was discovered, the next day.

The official Hilux van that he was riding when he was attacked was riddled with bullet holes, our correspondent learnt.

The source said, “The chief provost of Nigerian Immigration Service, Imo State Command, Okiemute Mrere, has been assassinated. He was killed on Saturday night. He was riding in his official Hilux van when he was attacked, shot and killed.

“His corpse was discovered the next day which was on Sunday morning. Nothing was taken from him, not even his service pistol. His vehicle was riddled in bullets holes. The command is quiet. There is panic as officers are dumbfounded by this tragic development.”

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Winifred Ogu, refused to take several calls put to her telephone by our correspondent.

She had yet to respond to a text message sent to her as of the time of filing this report but a senior officer who preferred anonymity confirmed the murder to our correspondent.

The state Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, told our correspondent on Monday morning that, “I do not have the brief”.