he police in Benue are searching for four officers following an attack on a patrol team in Logo Local Government Area on Saturday afternoon, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.
The men were returning from a confidence-building mission in remote villages when suspected herdsmen opened fire on them in Tse Akpam village, near Azege town, police and residents told PREMIUM TIMES.
“We had had an encounter around Azege when a team of mobile police went on confidence patrol,” said police commissioner Fatai Owoseni. “When they were coming back at a point in Azege, they started hearing gunfire from inside the bush suspected to be from the herdsmen.There was a serious exchange of gunfire.”
Mr. Owoseni said the attackers burnt a police van and four officers could not be found as at 7:20 p.m. Saturday.
“One of our vehicles was set ablaze. So far, on their side, we’re still trying to ascertain casualties; while we’re yet to see four of our men,” he said.
The police chief said more officers have been dispatched to the areas to comb for the missing officers.
His statement to PREMIUM TIMES corroborates what witnesses had earlier informed this newspaper about the development.
Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that a police officer who sustained gunshot injury was taken to the hospital in Ayilamo, the headquarters of Tombo Council Ward about eight kilometres from Azege where the attack occurred.
Enoch Nyikyaa, a chief in Logo LGA, told PREMIUM TIMES the attack occurred in his domain and that the herdsmen who carried it out also destroyed farmlands with their cattle.
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