Three operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have been shot dead by gunmen in Okene.
The commandant of the NDLEA in Kogi, Idris Bello, told reporters on Sunday in Lokoja that the three operatives were gunned down while on patrol.
He said they were killed at about 8:30 p.m. on October 13 by the gunmen, “who emerged from nowhere”.
Mr Bello said the gunmen came on foot and that the incident occurred close to the main gate of the Federal College of Education, Okene.
He identified the slain operatives as Nicholas Onwumere, Ebun Peters and Abdulrahman Musa.
The commandant explained that the NDLEA officers were on duty alongside their three other colleagues when the gunmen struck.
Mr Bello further said the officers died on the spot, while the three other colleagues escaped unhurt.
He said the gunmen took away the rifles of the dead officers and vanished.
The commandant said other security agencies in the state had been contacted on the development, adding that efforts were being made to track down the killers.
The Kogi Government had in August established a Forward Operation Base in Okene in partnership with the Nigerian Army to check kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes.
However, the initiative has yet to yield the desired result, according to observers.
Analysts suggest that the latest killing may be the handiwork of Boko Haram group, which has been striking at soft targets in northern Nigeria, having been degraded substantially by the Nigerian armed forces.
Kogi had witnessed bloody attacks by Boko Haram in recent years.
NAN
