Two bandits who unleashed terror on Afeyi-Ogboju community, killing 13 people and leaving several others with different degrees of injuries on Tuesday morning, have been killed by operatives of the Benue Police Command.

The two bandits, according to the command, were killed hours after the Commissioner of Police, CP Cletus Nwadiogbu, launched a search to fish out the perpetrators and recovered an AK-47 rifle and 15 rounds of live ammunition.

The two bandits were said to be part of the syndicate that unleashed terror on the agrarian community after rustling 20 cows at about 7 a.m. when the residents were just waking up to begin the day’s activities.

They destroyed and razed several homes on their path while escaping with the rustled cows, and shot at the residents, killing 13 of them, including children, to prevent anyone from identifying them.

The Commissioner of Police, who visited the attacked community with some tactical teams to assess the scale of destruction inflicted on the community, expressed shock over the incident and commended members of the vigilance group for responding and containing further attacks before the arrival of police operatives who later combed areas and forests in search of the perpetrators.

CP Nwadiogbu, who ordered operatives to go after the trail of the bandits after intelligence revealed their path during the escape, confirmed the death of two bandits after an exchange of gunfire with operatives.

He also met with some of the residents and assured them that the fleeing bandits would be arrested and brought to book

The CP appealed to them to be ready to defend themselves and furnish the police with veritable information to tackle these violent crimes.

Some of the residents whose homes were razed and foodstuffs destroyed appealed for more security personnel to be deployed to the community and the state government to intervene in their plight and support those whose houses were burnt. (Channels TV)