Tragedy struck on Tuesday at Ulaja community in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State when a Police officer and one local vigilante lost their lives in a gun battle with suspected herdsmen in the area.
An eyewitness, who spoke with newsmen, narrated that the herders who, escaped crisis from Bassa, a nearby local government were crossing with their livestock through Ulaja, “while shooting guns to scare people away.”
“The sporadic gun shots got attention of local vigilantes on road block on the Anyigba – Abejukolo road and they resisted them from crossing.
“Herders later abandoned their livestock and invited Policemen to the scene, but the locals insisted that they wouldn’t allow herders in the community, and in the ensuing confusion, the Policemen opened fire, killing a vigilante, who was identified as Anone Abimaje.
“In retaliation, vigilantes returned fire, which also killed a Police officer.”
According to him, both corpse were evacuated to Lokoja, the state capital while the people in the community and its surroundings are currently living in fears.
Meanwhile, Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello at the state security meeting on Tuesday in Lokoja, threatened to remove four Council Chairmen and their Traditional rulers from office over alleged killing of fifteen herdsmen.
The affected Chairmen and their Traditional rulers are, Omala, Dekina, Igalamela-Odolu, and Yagba West, saying that they have fifteen days to fish out the perpetrators.
Efforts to speak with the spokesperson of Kogi State Police Command, Mr. Williams Ayah failed as he neither picked calls nor replied to text messages.
