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Suspected militia have killed three police officers and five civilians in Tor-Damisa community, Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State.
Residents said the attackers, armed with sophisticated weapons, stormed the community at about 1 p.m. on Wednesday and began shooting indiscriminately.
It was gathered that panic gripped the area as residents, including women and children, fled their homes into nearby bushes to escape the violence.
Sources said eight persons, including three police officers, were killed in the attack, while several others sustained gunshot wounds.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the assailants arrived in large numbers and threw the community into chaos.
“They came in large numbers and started shooting. People were running in different directions. The whole community was in confusion,” the source said.
The source added that a distress call was sent to the Donga Police Division, located a few kilometres from the community. Reinforcements were subsequently deployed, alongside soldiers from the 93 Battalion in Takum.
Sources said the area has since been deserted, with soldiers and mobile police personnel maintaining a presence to restore calm.
Reacting to the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Taraba State Command, ASP Victor Mshelizah, said the command received a distress report from a resident, Zaki Orbanga of Tordamisa Akate Ward, indicating that suspected armed bandits had attacked Tse Kwe village.
He said a team of officers led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Donga, alongside operatives of the Special Force, was immediately deployed to the scene.
“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.
Mshelizah disclosed that CPL Raphael Danjuma and PC Ebenezer Daniel sustained fatal gunshot wounds in the line of duty, while another officer, PC Samuel Bawa, was initially declared missing but was later found dead in a nearby bush.
He also confirmed that the body of Nutsa Tyav, a 60-year-old chairman of the local vigilante group in Tordamisa, was recovered after the attack.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Betty Isokpan Otimenyin, has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of the brave officers and the vigilante member who paid the supreme price while protecting the state and the nation at large.
“The command extends its heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and assures them that their sacrifice will not be forgotten,” the police spokesperson said.
