30 officers found dead in lafia, Nassarawa

The violence in Nigeria continues as a combined force of Nigerian police officers and agents of the country’s domestic spy agency found themselves the target of a brutal attack that left at least 30 of them dead and others still missing days later, authorities said Thursday. They were in Lafia to quench some of the domestic disturbances going on in the city. This continues a series of attacks on security forces by Islamic extremist in northern Nigeria. The killings forced President Goodluck Jonathan to abandon a diplomatic visit to southern Africa to return home to speak to security forces about the increasing body counts from violence across the nation. The attack Tuesday in the village of Alakio, near Nasarawa’s state capital of Lafia, saw members of the Ombatse militia attack and rout the contingent of officers. At least 30 officers of the police and the State Security Service were killed in the attack, Nasarawa police spokesman Michael O. Ada said. Another 17 remain missing and “might be held hostage,” Ada said. Ombatse, a militia of people belonging to the Eggon people of the region, had been forcing Christians and Muslims to convert to their quasi-religious organization, Ada said. The security forces had planned to raid Ombatse’s local shrine, the spokesman said. The killings come after Islamic extremists in Nigeria’s northeast armed with heavy weapons and anti-aircraft guns raided a town called Bama also on Tuesday, killing at least 42 people, including 22 police officers. In a statement Thursday, Nigeria’s federal police said commanders received orders to stop the violence. “We consider the attack not just an attack on the Nigeria Police and its officers and men but an attack on the collective will of Nigerians to protect and preserve our dear fatherland; this we have vowed to put an end to,” the federal police command said. Source: Yahoo News