The remains of several police officers, drawn from various units including IRT Abuja, PMF 51 Oghara, and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad in Asaba, dispatched to rescue three missing colleagues in Ohoror community, have been discovered by a joint team comprising security forces and local vigilantes in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
According to reliable sources, the combined team embarked on intensive search operations in the forest on both Sunday and Monday, ultimately locating some of the deceased officers.
Recalling the events of January 24, 2024, three police inspectors stationed at a checkpoint in Ohoror community responded to a distress call from Moses Progress, who has since evaded capture. Progress reported being attacked by suspected herdsmen while conducting a ritual under a bridge near the checkpoint.
Tragically, the three responding officers never returned, marking the beginning of a grim saga that has now claimed the lives of six officers with an additional 15 still unaccounted for.
Confirmation of the alleged killings came from a police inspector who managed to escape from captivity at the hands of the herdsmen several days later.
Despite the silence from Delta State police authorities regarding the incident, the bodies of some of the fallen officers were recovered from the forest between Sunday and Monday by a collaborative effort involving local vigilantes.
Reportedly, operational camps belonging to the suspected assailants were dismantled, and six bodies were retrieved from the Agadama bush, while others remain missing.
A senior security source from the Delta State Police Command, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the recovered bodies had been transferred to the morgue at Mariere Central Hospital in Ughelli.
During the documentation process at the morgue, officials believed to be from the Delta State government were present alongside the vigilante members, though their official capacity remains unconfirmed.
Additional information is pending as investigations into the incident progress.
