Benue ambush: Death toll rises to 11 as bodies of missing officers recovered

Eight additional bodies of policemen killed in last Friday’s violent attack on security operatives at Agu Centre, a border community between Katsina-Ala and Ukum Local Government Areas of Benue State, have been recovered.

The ambush occurred when a combined team of security agents comprising Operation Zenda operatives, Benue State Civil Protection Guards (BSCPG) and the Special Intervention Squad (SIS) engaged heavily armed assailants. 

Initial reports confirmed the deaths of three personnel, including two police officers and one BSCPG member, while eight other policemen were declared missing.

Speaking with journalists by phone on Monday in Makurdi, Katsina-Ala Council Chairman Dr. Justine Shaku announced the grim discovery of the missing officers’ remains.

“This raises the death toll to eleven ten policemen and one BSCPG operative,” Shaku stated, adding that Benue State Commissioner of Police, CP Ifeanyi Emenari, is personally supervising the ongoing operation.

“The atmosphere is still tense and unfriendly, but we are on top of the situation,” he said.

Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, also confirmed the recovery of the eight corpses.