Three Police Officers Killed In Taraba Communal Crisis

At least three officers of the Nigerian Police Force have been killed in communal crisis in Taraba State.

The State Police Command confirmed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday, Naija News reports.

The police report noted that the officers were murdered by some hoodlums involved in the crisis between Ndaka and Bissaula communities in the Kurmi Local Government Council of the state recently.

The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Usman Abdullahi, who spoke in Jalingo earlier today, explained that the personnel were overpowered by a yet-to-be-identified militia group, whom he believed the command would soon track down.

The gruesome killing of the officers is coming barely a month after the State Governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, inaugurated a commission of inquiry to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the upheaval that erupted in the communities early this year, Naija News understands.

Abdullahi has, however, assured that the force will tread all legitimate paths to bring the killers of the officers to book.

He beckoned at any person or group with genuine information that would lead to the arrest of the suspected culprits to reach out to the command.

Meanwhile, a statement also made available to newsmen by the leadership of one of the communities, alleged that the Ndaka militiamen who carried out the attack also killed an elderly woman and destroyed property worth millions of naira.

Signed by Jibril Garba, the group at the same time alleged that the Ichen ethnic group in Bissaula town have come under a series of unprovoked, but premeditated attacks by Ndaka militia despite peace efforts by the government and stakeholders.

The statement read partly; “As a peace-loving and law-abiding people, we welcomed the commission of inquiry set up by the Governor, with the hope that peace would be restored and we encourage our people who were displaced to return to Bissaula.

“Unfortunately, Ndaka militias struck again and killed three mobile policemen who we were takenployed to restore normalcy and their service rifles were taken away.

“We condemn these attacks and killing of the three policemen and our people by Ndaka militia, we call on the government to investigate the attacks and ensure that the perpetrators and their accomplices are apprehended and the service rifles of the slain policemen recovered.”

They, however, expressed hope that the establishment of the commission of inquiry by the state governor will go a long way in unraveling the rationale behind the killings and massive destruction of property in the communities, Naija News reports.