Police insist no IDP killed in Benue

The Police in Benue State says no Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) was killed in any part of the state at the weekend. It came after report of an incident involving the death of a 14-year-old generated conflicting accounts. Some accounts alleged the dead had taken refuge at the IDPs camp in Daudu before a misunderstanding […]

The Police in Benue State says no Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) was killed in any part of the state at the weekend.

It came after report of an incident involving the death of a 14-year-old generated conflicting accounts.

Some accounts alleged the dead had taken refuge at the IDPs camp in Daudu before a misunderstanding ensued between some policemen drafted to keep surveillance at the camp and commercial motorcycle riders in the area.

While the deceased was believed to have been killed by a police bullet, other witnesses claimed that it was a bullet from one of the irate youth opposing the police that killed the teenager who earlier had a score to settle with them and that she was not living in the camp.

Spokesperson of the Police Command in the state, Moses Yamu, however in a statement on Sunday, said that at about 9:00am on Saturday,  some irate youths in Daudu community had launched a violent confrontation on policemen securing Daudu IDP camp.

He stressed that preliminary investigation revealed that the attack was carried out to frustrate investigation of a case of attempted rape which occurred in the community (but not in the IDP camp) in which one of the youth was arrested.

He added that the youth protested police action of frustrating their daily attempt to gain incursion into the camp for criminal purposes, especially when the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) carries out the distribution of relief materials.

"In addition to the armed youth firing gunshots and hurling stones at the direction of the police and despite the intervention of well meaning elders of the community, the irate youth extended their hostilities towards residential areas around the IDP camp, during which their gunshot hit and killed one Miss Queen Zoho. Unfortunately Zoho who died as a result of the gunshot was the victim of the attempted rape," he said.

The PPRO maintained that in handling the delicate incident, the police team exercised a lot of restraint due to the populous nature of the community, including the consciousness of preventing any untoward occurrence in the camp.

He further disclosed that on the spot assessment visit by the State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, was conducted, where  the IDPs and the community in general were reassured of their security as effort is being intensified to apprehend those who are directly or indirectly involved in the dastardly act.