Gunmen believed to be bandits have allegedly slain a commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) agro ranger unit in Benue State.
The victim, identified as Mike Ode, fell victim to the violence in Shaapera community within the Gwer West Local Government Area.
Nicholas Ode, a relative of the deceased, lamented the brutal killing of his brother in Shaapera village, underscoring the tragic incident’s occurrence on Monday.
The body has been transferred to the morgue at Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi.
“We were told that he went for a special assignment at Shaapera village.
“It was there that they had a confrontation with the herdsmen and during the gun duel, they confirmed that the NSCDC officers were able to kill up to 10 of the bandits.
“Unfortunately, we were told that one of the four civil defence guys, which is my brother, was gunned down, while others escaped,” he said.
The NSCDC Command Public Relations Officer, Mike Ejelikwu, confirmed the incident.
He said the death of the personnel would not deter the command from performing its constitutional mandate of providing security for every law-abiding citizen in the state.
“NSCDC has a specialised squad called the Agro Rangers located across Gwer West, Logo, Apa, Kwande, Guma, among others, to provide security for Agro-allied investment, be it animal husbandry or crop production,” he disclosed.
He added that the deceased was killed during a gun duel with the bandits, but added that there was heavy casualty on the part of the bandits.
“We lost one agro ranger who incidentally was the commander of the operation,” he said, adding that the command was already in touch with his family.
