GUNMEN KILL POLICE INSPECTOR, SEIZE RIFLE IN PLATEAU AMBUSH AS SECURITY CRISIS DEEPENS

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

A police inspector, Yakubu Dauda, has been killed and his rifle seized by unknown gunmen in an ambush in the Chwelnyap Rim community of Riyom Local Government Area, Plateau State.

The attack occurred on Monday during a police operation in the area, according to Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Riyom, David Tsado, who confirmed the incident to journalists on Tuesday.

The killing was revealed during a visit by a fact-finding committee set up by Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to investigate the causes of renewed violence in parts of the state.

“We were on ground in the community following a report of security threats in the area, not knowing that some gunmen had laid an ambush. In the process of tracing the gunmen, they opened fire on our men, and one of us, Inspector Yakubu Dauda, unfortunately lost his life,” Tsado stated.

He added that the inspector’s corpse had been deposited in a hospital morgue, and that the gunmen appeared heavily armed and well-prepared.

Efforts to neutralise the attackers have proven difficult. According to the DPO, a reinforcement team deployed by the Commissioner of Police for a follow-up operation on Tuesday met stiff resistance from the assailants.

“Today, the Commissioner of Police deployed more men to take the fight to their den, but it was another heavy encounter. It got to a stage that we had to retreat,” he added.

Chairman of the fact-finding committee, Major General Nicholas Rogers (retd.), condemned the rising insecurity in the region, calling the situation “very bad.” He pledged that the committee would engage stakeholders to gather solutions and provide recommendations to end the violence.

Community and youth leaders told the committee that multiple villages in Riyom LGA had come under attack in the past month, resulting in at least nine deaths and the destruction of 33 houses.

They expressed hope that the committee’s intervention would lead to sustainable peace in the troubled area.