The Benue State Police Command has confirmed a deadly attack on the Abande community in the Kwande Local Government Area of the state, where armed bandits killed a police officer and four residents.
The Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Edet Udeme, disclosed that the Divisional Police Officer in Jato-Aka received a distress call reporting that suspected armed herder bandits, operating in large numbers, had attacked police personnel stationed in Abande community as well as residents of the area.
Udeme stated that during the confrontation, which occurred while police operatives were responding to the distress call, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the 13 Police Mobile Force (PMF), Makurdi, who was on special duty in the community, sustained fatal injuries.
He added that four members of the community also lost their lives during the attack.
Following the incident, a combined team of police operatives and other security agencies was deployed to the area to secure the community, conduct a comprehensive search operation, and prevent further breakdown of law and order. The bodies of the victims have since been recovered and deposited at a mortuary.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Benue State, Ifeanyi Emenari, has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations to immediately proceed to Jato-Aka with additional Mobile Force personnel and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to coordinate intensive operations aimed at tracking down the perpetrators and ensuring their arrest.
The command assured residents that all necessary measures are being taken to bring those responsible to justice and restore peace to the affected community.
