Three operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have been killed by gunmen in Okene, Kogi State.
The NDLEA operatives were on patrol at about 8.30 p.m. on Friday when they were shot dead.
The Commandant of the NDLEA in Kogi State, Alhaji Idris Bello, made this known on Sunday when speaking with journalists in Lokoja.
He gave the names of the operatives as Nicholas Onwumere, Ebun Peters and Abdulrahman Musa.
Bello said the gunmen came on foot and shot the operatives dead close to the main gate of the Federal College of Education, Okene.
According to him, the operatives were on duty alongside three other colleagues when the gunmen struck.
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While those shot died on the spot, the three others escaped unhurt.
The killers, Bello said, went away with the rifles of the late operatives.
He said other security agencies in the state had been contacted on the development, and efforts were ongoing to track down the killers.
It would be recalled that the Kogi State government had in August established a Forward Operation Base in Okene in partnership with the Nigerian Army to check kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes.
It is suspected however that the latest killing may be the handiwork of the terrorists group, Boko Haram.
Kogi, which is believed to be the spiritual headquarters of the terrorists group, has been witnessing attacks by the group in the past few years.
