At least one person had been reportedly injured from gunshot as operatives of the Nigerian Police’s Operation Zenda Joint Task Force (JTF) and personnel of the Nigerian Army clashed in Naka, headquarters of Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State.
Residents told our correspondent in Makurdi that the incident, which happened on Tuesday, caused panic in the rural town dominated mostly by internally displaced people.
It was also learnt that the confrontation led to the destruction of the official vehicle of the JTF Commander, CSP Lyam Akegh, during an alleged exchange of gunfire.
Witnesses said that the police task force had been returning from an operation targeted at curbing kidnappings and banditry along the Makurdi–Naka–Adoka–Ankpa and Naka–Agagbe roads when soldiers stationed in the area allegedly intercepted them.
The witnesses alleged that the engagement resorted to argument between the security men and before long there was an exchange of gunfire which caused residents to scamper for safety.
A traditional head in the area, Chief Deligba Akaa, was said to have sheltered a three-year-old boy who got lost during the commotion.
The residents maintained that as of Wednesday evening, some children were still reported missing with most of them still saying that the cause of the clash was unclear to them.
But a security source who preferred anonymity told journalists in Makurdi that trouble started when the troops at a checkpoint in Naka earlier sighted some motorcyclists transporting butchered cows, a movement the soldiers found suspicious.
“When the soldiers tried to stop them for questioning, a Toyota Hilux vehicle approached the checkpoint at high speed and ignored repeated signals to halt.
“The troops fired warning shots as a standard procedure, but the vehicle drove off into Naka town,” the source narrated.
The source added that shortly after, sporadic gunfire erupted in the community and it was later discovered that some Operation Zenda personnel (police) had allegedly fired into the air in celebration of a successful operation.
“Unfortunately, a 12-year-old boy was hit in the leg by a stray bullet. He is currently receiving treatment at Naka Medical Centre and is in stable condition,” the source said.
It added that later same day, “Operation Zenda personnel reportedly returned to the checkpoint to demand the release of suspects earlier arrested with mutilated cows believed to have been rustled.
“One of the suspects allegedly confessed that the cows were being transported in the Operation Zenda vehicle that had refused to stop earlier,” the source posited.
Meanwhile, OPWS had yet to respond to the actual cause of the fracas between its personnel and the police.
Similarly, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Benue command, DSP Udeme Edet, said investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the confrontation and promised that efforts were being made to resolve the matter.
The Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Security and Internal Affairs, Joseph Har, said he had yet to receive full details of the incident.
