A police officer and four residents have been killed following an attack by non-state actors in Abande Community, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.
The spokesperson of the Benue State Police Command, Udeme Edet, said the attack occurred on Tuesday. He confirmed that an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the 13 Police Mobile Force (PMF), Makurdi, who was on special duty in the community, was fatally injured during the assault.
Edet explained that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Jato-Aka received a distress call indicating that suspected armed herder bandits, operating in large numbers, had attacked police personnel stationed in Abande Community as well as residents.
“Regrettably, four members of the community also lost their lives as a result of the attack,” he said in a statement issued on Wednesday, dismissing reports that as many as 16 people were killed.
According to the police, a joint team of security operatives has been deployed to the area to secure the community, conduct a thorough search and prevent further breakdown of law and order. The bodies of the victims have been recovered and deposited at the mortuary.
The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, has also dispatched the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations to the affected area. He commiserated with the families of the victims and the Abande community, assuring them that efforts are underway to track down and prosecute those responsible for the attack.
The incident comes amid ongoing prosecution by the Federal Government of nine suspected terrorists linked to the Yelwata community attack in Benue State, where about 150 people were reportedly killed.
On Monday, the Federal Government filed 57 amended charges against the suspects. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, presented the amended charges before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the court’s approval to strike out the name of one defendant, Yakubu Mamman.