Nigerian police officer shoots 5 dead in rampage

A Nigerian police inspector has killed five civilians and injured four in a shooting rampage, police said Monday, in the latest violence in the country's restive southeast.

The incident happened on Sunday when the inspector stormed a residential estate in Enugu and opened fire on people there, state police spokesman Daniel Ndukwe said in a statement.

The victims were taken to hospital for treatment.

Ndukwe said five people, "whose injuries were critical, have been confirmed dead by doctors on duty and deposited in the mortuary for autopsy."

The inspector was arrested and an investigation was launched, he said. The motivation for the attack was not yet known.

Southeast Nigeria has seen a surge in attacks on security operatives in recent months, leaving scores dead, including police officers.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), seeking a breakaway republic for ethnic Igbo people from the region, has denied allegations of responsibility for the attacks.

A unilateral declaration of independence for Biafra in 1967 led to a 30-month civil war that claimed the lives of more than one million Igbo people before federal forces crushed the rebellion.