Three police officers were killed on Wednesday morning after gunmen attacked a security checkpoint in Egbe, a border town in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State.
According to eyewitness accounts, the assailants stormed the checkpoint, engaging the officers in a fierce gun battle before making away with their rifles. A local source said, “The assailants came for their guns, which they carted away. Three police officers died in the gun battle.” Video footage obtained after the attack shows vehicles allegedly used by the gunmen as they fled the scene.
The attack in Kogi came just hours after a deadly overnight raid in Bokungi, Tsaragi community, Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, where suspected bandits killed one person and rustled hundreds of cows. Sources revealed that the attackers, who struck around midnight, targeted the Fulani settlements of Alhaji Garuba and Alhaji Mumini. Mumini’s first son, Muhammadu—who was married only a month ago—was shot dead during the raid.
Residents said the bandits, numbering in large groups, fired sporadically to scare people before carting away nearly 1,000 cattle. Local vigilantes and Nigerian soldiers attempted to intercept them as they advanced through Fengewa, but the extent of their success remains unclear.
The twin incidents in Kogi and Kwara highlight the growing wave of insecurity across Nigeria’s North-Central region, where gunmen and bandits have repeatedly targeted security operatives, rural communities, and livestock owners. Authorities have yet to issue an official statement on either attack.
