Herdsmen overpowered Benue police camp, kill two

Herdsmen on Monday stormed a police camp at Awashuwa village in Logo Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State, killing two personnel.

Sources disclosed that the assailants had struck the base earlier in the day but were repelled. They, however, regrouped in the evening and staged the fatal attack.

A policeman who survived the incident said the herdsmen swooped on the camp in large numbers, overpowering the officers. The inspector and a sergeant who were wounded later had their throats slit. The attackers also burnt some houses.

Another policeman who was seriously injured was stabilised at Anyii General Hospital before he was moved to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) in Makurdi.

The remains of the deceased policemen have been deposited at the mortuary in Makurdi.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abdul Gimba, during an aerial surveillance operation, was said to have made a stopover at Awashuwa while the corpses were being evacuated.

“Our men came under attack at Awashuwa. They were ambushed by herdsmen who had tried to attack them earlier in the day but were repelled. Two of our men were killed and their rifles taken away, police spokesman confirmed, adding that a reinforcement from 13 Police Mobile Force had been sent to the area, led by Chief Superintendent Abubakar Gimba.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris to relocate to the state.

On Monday, Buhari ordered the police boss to relocate immediately, with a mandate to “restore law and order, prevent further loss of life and forestall the crisis from escalating.

A statement by police spokesman, Chief Superintendent Jimoh Moshood, reads: “In compliance with the presidential directive, the IGP is moving into Benue State with additional five units of Police Mobile Force (PMF), making a total of 10 units deployed in the state, in addition to other police formations on ground in the state before the crisis.