Four persons has reportedly lost their lives on Wednesday when suspected bandits launched a deadly attack on Irunda Ile, Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Cornfirming the incident, the State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (retd), who told journalists in Lokoja that the bandits invaded the community in the early hours of Wednesday and killed two vigilantes who confronted them.
He added that it was unfortunate that some youths, who were expected to support security agencies, acted otherwise.
“Security men were drafted to Yagba to chase the bandits away. Even those bandits occupying our mine site have been neutralized by the security men.
“Kogi State Government will not allow any criminals in the state. We are working very hard to ensure that Kogi State is safe for everyone.
“Some days ago, a helicopter was deployed to those areas, and we recorded major success. The bandits were neutralised by the security men.
“We are not going to rest until we are able to neutralise the bandits completely,” Omodara stated.
He criticised the confrontation between the youths and security personnel, saying the operatives required community support rather than resistance.
Omodara added that recent operations, including aerial surveillance, had yielded significant breakthroughs against criminal elements.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Kogi State Police Command, CSP William Aya, were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages were not responded to at the time of filing this report.