Confirming the incident the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ismaila Numan said the two officers were part of the 15 officers who were on their way to make an arrest at Agbashi, Doma Local Government Area before the unfortunate incident took place.
“On Friday at around 3a.m., our officers encountered a gang of armed robbers two were shot, we thank God they all survived and they are responding to treatment at an hospital.”
Reports say the Police team was in three Hilux patrol vans with one belonging to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) when they ran into a roadblock ten minutes after leaving Lafia.
Seeing no one around, the officers alighted from their van to clear the roadblock and the armed robbers, who had taken cover in a nearby bush opened fire on them shooting one on the leg and another on the head but was lucky to survive because he used his helmet.
The PPRO said the officer who was shot in the head has been taken to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) in neighbouring Plateau State for treatment, noting that both officers are responding to treatment.
He however, said so far no arrests have been made but assured that the command is doing everything possible to apprehend the culprits.
Meanwhile, Kogi State Police Command has paraded 45 suspects in Lokoja for various crimes, which include armed robbery and kidnapping.
In what seemed like drama however, during the parade of the suspects, the Police didn’t allow newsmen to speak with any of the suspects, some of whom were protesting that they were not criminals. However, one Major Ali Abdullahi aka Hitler forcefully stood up and said he was only being implicated for doing nothing.
According to him, he said when the police conducted a search on his residence, nothing incriminating was found in his house, but he was surprised that police now bundled him up with criminals alleging, he was the one supplying them with guns.
Also an ailing uncle of the former Attorney General, Ahmed Adoke who is said to be a renowned social critic, also shouting to newsmen to hear him out saying that he knew nothing about the allegation levelled against him.
Another, one Idris Ozi Shaibu, an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the last Okehi House of Assembly election also rained abuses on his political detractors for implicating him in a case he knew nothing about.
He asked the police to allow him speak to the press because he is not a common criminal but a chartered accountant, adding that he is challenging his opponent in the election at the tribunal.
As part of the gains of the recent deployment of over 350 Police task force 44 suspects linked to sundry criminal activities were paraded.
Addressing newsmen the Force Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu said the harvest of arrests was made possible through the Special Anti Crime Task Force set up by the Inspector-General of Police, which was deployed to Kogi State due to the rampant cases of kidnapping and armed robbery cases in the state.
He said within three weeks of the deployment to the state, they were able to hit criminal hideouts and recovered over 50 guns and dangerous weapons, six stolen vehicles, while 45 suspects were arrested.
Ojukwu, who said the IG was before now highly disturbed over the high crime rate in the state, said with the presence of the Special Task Force which comprised of 350 crack detectives and anti riot police personnel, the crime rate in
