TheCable

Three operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have been shot dead in the Okene area of Kogi state.

Idris Bello, commandant of the NDLEA in the state, told reporters on Sunday in Lokoja that the deceased were gunned down while on patrol.

He said they were killed around 8:30pm on Saturday.

Bello said the gunmen came on foot and that the incident occurred close to the main gate of the Federal College of Education, Okene.

He identified the operatives killed as Nicholas Onwumere, Ebun Peters and Abdulrahman Musa.

The commandant explained that the NDLEA officers were on duty alongside their three other colleagues when the gunmen struck.

Bello said that the officers died on the spot, while the three other colleagues escaped unhurt.

He said the gunmen collected the rifles of the dead officers and vanished.

Bello said other security agencies in the state had been contacted on the development, saying that efforts were being made to track down the killers.

In August, the Kogi government established a forward operation base in Okene in partnership with the Nigerian army to check kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes.

Kogi has recorded a high rate of crime in recent years.