Police recover seven more officers’ bodies from Benue attack

Egbetokun

The police in Benue State have recovered the bodies of seven policemen and one member of the state’s Civil Protection Guard, who went missing on Friday after a deadly ambush by bandits, which led to the immediate killing of three policemen.

The attack happened in the Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of the state.

The spokesman for the Benue Police Command, DSP Udeme Edet, confirmed the recovery of the eight bodies to our correspondent on Monday.

“The bodies have been recovered,” she said.

The recovery brings the death toll from lthe Friday’s attack to 11.

Earlier reports indicated that 11 personnel—comprising policemen and operatives of the state-backed Civil Protection Guards, codenamed Anyam Nyom—were ambushed during clearance operations by a group of about 1,000 armed men.

Three bodies were recovered between Friday and Sunday morning.

Force Headquarters spokesperson, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed on Sunday that three officers were dead and seven missing at the time.

However, Katsina-Ala council chairman, Justine Shaku, told journalists in a telephone interview on Monday that the remaining eight bodies were recovered on Sunday night.

“Yes, I can confirm that the bodies of the eight security personnel were recovered yesterday (Sunday) night,” Shaku said.

“The Police Commissioner, Ifeanyi Emenari, is right here with me. The atmosphere is still tense and unfriendly, but we are on top of the situation.”

Meanwhile, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Benue, Benjamin Omale, condemned the killings in a statement on Monday, describing them as “reprehensible and unacceptable.”