Armed men suspected to be bandits on Thursday killed a police officer and burnt several houses including a police station located in the Tse Harga community of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area in Benue State.
According to Daily Trust, the bandits suspected to be loyalists of Terwase Akwaza popularly known as ‘Gana’ invaded the community around 4:00 am and started shooting sporadically.
The bandits during the attack also set ablaze several buildings and a police pick-up van.
It was gathered that the troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), in collaboration with the Police, killed one of the suspected bandits in a swift counter-response to the attack during which they recovered over 200 rounds of ammunition.
A resident of the community who spoke on the incident said the bandits attacked the area in the early hours of Thursday and unleashed terror on the people.
The resident who confirmed that a police station and many houses were set ablaze, said he could not ascertain the number of people killed.
The Council Chairman of Katsina-Ala, Alfred Atera, claimed that a police officer was killed in the attack while the police station, a police vehicle and several houses were burnt by the bandits.
Atera explained that, due to the security challenges in the local government areas, the youths in Tse Harga formed a vigilante group and have been doing well to contain insecurity in their domain.
“The armed bandits targetted the youth who formed themselves into a vigilante group.”
“They stormed the area (Tse Harga), burn the police station, police pick-up van and killed a policeman there.”
“They also burnt several houses which I cannot ascertain now. But as for the locals, nobody was killed,” he explained.
He added that the incident caused more people to flee the already deserted vicinity, leaving at home only brave men to withstand the challenges.
The council chairman, however, noted that the quick intervention of security agencies and soldiers of OPWS had restored calm to the community.
When contacted, Force Commander OPWS, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, simply said, “we are in operation around that axis but I can’t comment further on an ongoing operation.”
“You may wish to contact the Directorate of Defence Information, Defence Headquarters in Abuja, thanks.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Benue Command, DSP Catherine Anene, on her part, confirmed the killing of a policeman in the affected area.