No fewer than three police officers and a local vigilante leader were killed by suspected bandits in the Tordamisa community of the Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State.

The police said officers killed in the attack include Corporal Raphael Danjuma, Constable Ebenezer Daniel, and Police Constable Samuel Bawa.

In a statement on Thursday, the state police spokesperson, ASP Victor Mshelizah, said the officers were killed while responding to a security situation in the affected area.

Mr Mshelizah said the operation followed a distress report from Zaki Orbanga, a resident of Tordamisa, Akate Ward, who reported that armed men suspected to be bandits had attacked Tse Kwe village.

”On arrival at the location, the suspected armed bandits opened fire on the police team, resulting in a fierce exchange of gunfire. The police operatives responded swiftly and repelled the attackers,” he said.

The police spokesperson said that while the body of Mr Bawa was discovered in a nearby bush during a search operation, Nutsa Tyav, the chairman of the local vigilante group in Tordamisa Village, also died.

“Regrettably, during the encounter, CPL Raphael Danjuma and PC Ebenezer Daniel sustained fatal gunshot wounds in the line of duty. Another officer, PC Samuel Bawa, was initially reported missing during the operation. A search party was subsequently organised, and his body was later recovered in a nearby bush.

”Additionally, the corpse of Nutsa Tyav, a 60-year-old chairman of the vigilante group in Tordamisa village, was also recovered following the attack,” Mr Mshelizah said.

The state police commissioner, Betty Otimenyin, described the slain officers and the vigilante leader as courageous men who paid the ultimate price in the service to the communities and the country at large.

Ms Otimenyin assured residents that security agencies would intensify operations to track down those responsible for the attack and prevent further violence in the area.