At least 16 security personnel are feared dead, with several others missing, after an ambush by suspected armed herdsmen supported by local militia gangs during an operation at Agu Centre, a rural settlement in Mbatyula/Mberev Council Ward of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, Benue State.
Other security operatives, who survived the ambush, sustained injuries, while the trucks conveying them were burnt and motorcycles carted away by the attackers.
Among those killed were members of Operation Anyam Nyor, a state-established Joint Security Task Force made up of police officers and operatives of the Benue State Civil Protection Guards, BSCPG.
A local source said over 90 security personnel, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Danlami Usman, popularly known as “Dan Zuru,” were moving into the area to flush out armed herdsmen when they were ambushed.
The source said: “The armed herdsmen joined forces with known local militia gangs, numbering close to 1,000. Unknown to the security team, they laid an ambush between Tse Agbami and Agu Centre, on the Katsina-Ala/Ukum border.
“They drove into the ambush and, in the exchange of gunfire, over 16 members of the team were killed. Several others were captured, including ASP Dan Zuru, who had been leading the fight against armed herdsmen and bandits in Sankera (Ukum, Logo, Katsina-Ala).
“We have tried calling his line, but the person who picks speaks another language. His capture is a tragedy because he was the backbone of security operations in Sankera.”
The Chairman of Katsina-Ala LGA, Justine Shaku, confirmed the incident in a post on his verified social media handle. He explained that the operation was fiercely resisted by local militias, Fulani marauders, and mercenaries allegedly brought in from a neighbouring state.
He said, “Casualty reports show more than 10 officers are missing. So far, only two bodies have been recovered. Two Hilux vans were burnt, and several motorcycles carted away. Reinforcements have been deployed.”
It was gathered that the Commissioner of Police, Benue State Command, CP Innocent Ifeanyi Emenari, spent Saturday in Katsina-Ala, personally leading recovery efforts.
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