Kogi state Police Command yesterday confirmed the death of 10 persons when gunmen invaded Kpanche community in Bassa local government area of the state. Thi was contained in a press statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. William Aya. The statement added that the Commissioner of Police, Ali Janga, also confirmed in Lokoja that the dead included five residents of the community, while five of the armed bandits were killed during a cross-fi re with security agents.
He said the bandits invaded the sleepy agrarian community in the early hours of yesterday, but they were quickly repelled by a combined team of police officers and soldiers. “Yes, five lives were lost in the village but operatives of the police mobile force and soldiers repelled them and succeeded in killing five bandits and recovered some weapons. So far, normalcy has been restored in the area,” he said.
According to him, five houses and unspecified number of vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles and other properties were set ablaze by the bandits. He said security agents would remain on ground in Kpanche while full investigation into the incident had commenced. The gunmen, according to an eyewitness, invaded the community in the early hours of yesterday, razed 15 houses and unspecified number of vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles and other valuable property.
