C’River activist petitions IG over killing of 12 policemen in 2018

A human rights activist, Orchardson Umoh, has stressed the need for the police to revisit the 2018 Ayilamo Saga incident in Benue State where some officers were ambushed and killed during an operation in the area.

Umoh stated this in a petition, which was addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, dated February 11, against the handling of the incident, and made available to newsmen in Calabar, Cross River State capital, on Thursday.

In the petition, Umoh said 23 policemen deployed from Mopol Unit 33 in Ado Ekiti and Imo Safer Highway Unit to the community to protect lives and property were ambushed during an operation.

The lawyer noted that seven years after the incident, peace had eluded the survivors of the attack as well as the famimies of the deceased officers.

He explained that during the attack, more than 12 of them were killed with some captured by the militias or bandits.

According to him, “There is a need to make a closure of the incident by recovering and returning the corpses of those who lost their lives for proper burial and the protection and care of the survivors.

“Sir, the very sad incident which we are writing to your office about was well publicised in the Nigerian media space and has been followed by write-ups encompassing and reflecting the despair of relatives of those who were killed or who are still missing or whose bodies have not been recovered, dead or alive. Sadly, it appears that not enough attention has been given to this incident.

“The scale of the entire incident demanded that such questions as what actually happened; How it happened; Who was involved; and the actions taken be asked and answered.

“In other words, a proper investigation ought to have been conducted to provide more insight into the incident and determine if there were any lapses or other factors that contributed to or culminated in the incident and identify any safety or operational policies that may have been violated.”

According to him, the police would have more information to prevent or manage similar incidents in the future.