Fulani herdsmen ambush police patrol in Benue, 4 MOPOls missing

SUSPECTED Fulani herdsmen were on the prowl again in Benue State on Saturday, when they ambushed mobile police personnel, with four Mopols feared missing.

The state Police Command confirmed the latest onslaught of the herdsmen, who have literarily laid siege to the state early this year killing hundreds in the process.

In the outgone week, a number of persons also lost their lives in the hands of herders when they swooped on some communities.

In a statement made available to Sunday Tribune in Makurdi, the state capital, on Saturday, the State Police Command spokesman, ASP Moses Yamu, said that the latest incident occurred in the troubled Logo local government area of the state.

He explained that the police personnel were on a regular operation in the area when they came under encountered the armed herders.

He added that four of the policemen were discovered missing after a gun duel with the herders.

“In furtherance of its confidence-building strategy and strengthening its visibility, Police Mobile Force Teams conducted a robust patrol of Ayilamo in Logo LGA.

“However, on their way back to their camps, they came under attack of a fully armed group of suspected herdsmen,” saying that in the ensuing gun battle, one of the police patrol vehicles caught fire,” Yamu said.

He noted that the whereabouts of four of the mobile policemen were unknown, just as the casualties on the side of the herdsmen could not be ascertained

It would be recalled that suspected herdsmen Thursday night killed three persons in the troubled local government area.