Gunmen suspected to be herders have killed a police inspector, Yakubu Dauda, and seized his rifle in the Chwelnyap Rim community of Riyom Local Government Area, Plateau State.
The divisional police officer (DPO) of Riyom LGA, David Tsado, disclosed this during a visit by the fact-finding committee set up by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to investigate the causes of violence plaguing the state.
According to Tsado, the incident occurred on Monday while the officers were on an operation in the area, adding that the gunmen, who arrived in large numbers, ambushed the officers, resulting in the death of one officer during the attack.
He explained that the gunmen terrorising the area were well-armed, adding that despite mobilising their men after the attack, they were unable to overcome the gunmen’s resistance because they were well-armed.
“Yesterday, my men were on the ground in the community following a report of security threats in the area, not knowing that some gunmen had laid an ambush. In the process of tracing the gunmen, they opened fire on our men and one of us, Inspector Yakubu Dauda, unfortunately lost his life”
The DPO further stressed, “His corpse has been deposited in the hospital. Today, the police commissioner deployed more men to take the fight to their den, but it was another heavy encounter. It got to a stage we must retrieve,” he said.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the fact-finding committee, Major General Nicholas Rogers, while speaking on the committee’s visit to the area, said they were at the LGA to find out what went wrong, resulting in the incessant killing and attacks in the area.
He also added that “it is a terrible situation. We are here to identify the problems and find lasting solutions.
According to him, youth and community leaders informed the committee that many villages were attacked, adding that in the last month, about nine persons were killed and 33 houses were burnt in the process.
