How bandits killed NSCDC commander in Benue

Mike Ode, a commander of agro ranger of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Benue State has been killed by suspected bandits.

The deceased was killed at the Shaapera community in Gwer West Local Government Area of the state.

Nicholas Ode, uncle of the deceased said his brother was brutally killed in on Monday, May 6 adding that the corpse had been deposited at the morgue of Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.

He said, “We were told that he went for a special assignment at Shaapera village. It was there that they had a confrontation with the herdsmen and during the gun duel, they confirmed that the NSCDC officers were able to kill up to 10 of the bandits.

“Unfortunately, we were told that one of the four civil defence guys, which is my brother, was gunned down while others escaped.”

NSCDC Command Public Relations Officer, Mike Ejelikwu, confirmed the demise of Ode.

He, however, said his death won't deter the command from carrying out its constitutional mandate of providing security for every law-abiding citizen in the state.

He said, “NSCDC has a specialized squad called the Agro Rangers located across Gwer West, Logo, Apa, Kwande, Guma, among others, to provide security for Agro-allied investment, be it animal husbandry or crop production.”

He added that the deceased was killed during a gun duel with the bandits but added that there was heavy casualty on the part of the bandits.

“We lost one agro ranger who incidentally was the commander of the operation,” he said, adding that the command was already in touch with his family.