Remains of many police officers killed by bandits on Thursday in Zamfara State were yet to be retrieved.
No fewer than 50 officers who were part of a police anti-rustling team deployed in the troubled state were killed in an ambush by armed bandits.
Three days after the incident and despite indications that families of police officers who were in the ambushed team have inundated the police with enquiries on the fate of their loved ones, the Force Headquarters repeatedly declines to provide information.
Immediate concerns amongst the family members and police officers who spoke with were about the evacuation of the bodies of their loved ones and colleagues — and the rescue of wounded officers who might still be alive in the overgrown shrubs and forests.
“The bodies are already decomposing because we have no capacity to enter the bush to recover them,” a police officer who pleaded absolute anonymity told the medium from Zamfara Sunday afternoon. “We know they are over 50 who were killed, but those finding it difficult to move because they were seriously wounded could still be rescued.”
The officer said the bandits have taken positions around the communities, and police intelligence suggested there may be another ambush if they attempted to recover the bodies.
Habila Joshak, the police’s head of operations who was dispatched to oversee police security arrangement following the ambush on Thursday, had reportedly made attempts to land in the communities with a helicopter, but reportedly went back to Gusau, the state capital, after the bandits opened live rounds.
“Even Nigerian soldiers are not able to enter the hideouts of the bandits now. We heard they want to contact the Nigerian Air Force to see whether they could carry out airstrikes to neutralise the bandits and clear paths for evacuation team,” the officer said under anonymity because he could be sanctioned for providing unauthorised information to the media.
A spokesperson for the Nigerian Army did not return the online medium’s requests seeking comments on the level of support they are providing to the police in the aftermath of the deadly ambush.
Police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood only said in a statement Friday afternoon that officers repelled the ambush, killing 104 bandits in the process. He also said 50 hideouts used by the bandits were razed by officers, and stolen cattle and sheep were recovered.
He said the team only lost one officer in the pre-dusk attack in Birnin Mogaji, Zurmi Local Government Area, and peace had since returned to the communities following the massive losses inflicted on the armed cattle-rustling syndicate.
But shortly after Moshood’s statement, senior police officers who learnt of the incident said the police leadership was suppressing personnel casualties.
