8 people including a divisional police chief have been killed by gunmen in central Nigeria police source said on Wednesday 1st January,2023.
According to police and security source, the attack is the latest violence before the February 25 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Police in Benue state responded to a distress call after gunmen blocked the Markurdi-Naka road, forcing travellers to flee, state police spokesperson Catherine Sewuese Anene said.
Mamud Abubakar, the divisional police officer for Naka town, led a team of officers who engaged the armed gang in a gunfight, Anene said in a statement.
“However, the DPO (divisional police officer) who led the team sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to General Hospital Naka where he was eventually confirmed dead,” she said.
A police source said two other police officers were shot and killed during the fight with the armed gang.
When the gunmen retreated, they killed two children and three women in a nearby village, said the source, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Source: Aljazeera News