Police Inspector, 11 Bandits Killed During Gun Battle In Benue

A unit Commander of  the Benue State Joint Security Taskforce, code named ‘Operation Zenda’ has been killed alongside  11 suspected armed bandits terrorising Sankera axis,  comprising Katsina/Ala, Ukum and Logo local governments during a gun battle which lasted for over 12 hours.

A source who does not want his name in print told our correspondent that the slain officer was an Inspector of Police heading the unit command of Operation Zenda in the Sankara axis.

According to him, officers of Zenda operatives in an operation on Tuesday raided a militia hideout in the area, and on sighting the police, the bandits opened fire on them and in the process,  the unit commander who was leading the operation was gunned down, while 11 members of the group were killed bringing the number of the dead to 12

He said, according to what he gathered, officers of Operation Zenda stationed in the area received a distress call from the locals, that a militia group were attacking people in the surrounding communities and they quickly mobilised and rushed to the bandits’ hideout and on sighting them the bandits opened fire killing the leader of the operation.

According to him, the police overpowered the bandits in the gun battle that started on Tuesday night till Wednesday morning killing 11 bandits on the spot, while other members of the gang fled into the nearby bushes.

As of the time of filing this report, social media had been awash with pictures of the police Hilux van conveying the corpses of the slain officer and the 11 bandits into the police headquarters in Makurdi.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Benue State Command,  Catherine Anene  who confirmed the incident however said, she was yet to get the details. She was yet to get back to our correspondence at the time of filing this report.