KANO – Gunmen have killed eight people in central Nigeria, including a police chief. This is the latest violence ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections on 25 February, police and a security source said on Wednesday.
Insecurity is a major issue for voters in a country where armed gangs terrorise people in villages and on highways and carry out kidnappings for ransom, especially in the north.
Police in Benue State responded to a distress call after gunmen blocked the road between Markurdiand Naka, forcing travellers to flee, said the state police spokesperson, Catherine Sewuese Anene.
The Divisional Police Officer for Naka town, Mamud Abubakar, led a team of officers that engaged the armed gang in a gun battle, Anene said in a statement.
“However, the DPO (divisional police officer) who led the team sustained bullet injuries and was rushed to Naka General Hospital where he was eventually declared dead,” she said.
A police source said two other policemen 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 did not want to be named because she is not authorised to speak to the media.
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