DAILY TRUST
No fewer than 229 personnel of the Nigeria Police Force were killed between January 2023 and October 2024, Daily Trust investigations have revealed.
The officers were killed by bandits, hoodlums, gunmen, Boko Haram terrorists, cultists and armed robbers across the country.
In 2023 alone, 118 police officers of various ranks were killed; and 111 within 10 months in 2024.
There were also cases of police officers killed by mobs in parts of the country.
The recent incident was that of ASP Augustine Osupayi of the Lagos Police Command, who was lynched in October by a mob in Agege when his team was trying to prevent an execution of jungle justice.
The trend
At least 12 officers were killed between January 2 and 30, 2023. Seven other police officers were killed the following month. They were killed in Imo, Nasarawa, Edo, Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue, Niger and Delta states.
This trend continued in March and April 2023, with the killings of 11 officers and 23 respectively.
The data also showed that bandits killed six police officers in Kebbi on April 30, 2023, while ‘gunmen’ killed five cops in Imo on April 21, 2023.
Between May and July of the same year, 31 personnel of the Force were gunned down, with 17 casualties recorded in May alone.
Twenty-two police officers, according to the data, were killed in Benue State between August and December 2023.
At the beginning of this year, 15 policemen were killed at their respective duty points. Seven of the slain officers were killed in Delta State.
Thirteen police officers were killed in February by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB); while hoodlums killed a total of 10 cops in Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra and Edo states in March.
We’re undeterred – Serving police officers
Some police officers interviewed by our correspondent on the killings of their colleagues empathised with the families of those that lost their lives, but said they were no deterred by what they described as “very unfortunate incidents”.
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