Gunmen on Wednesday morning attacked a police checkpoint in Egbe, Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, killing three officers and seizing their rifles.
The assailants, who stormed the border town linking Kogi and Kwara States, reportedly engaged the policemen in a fierce exchange of gunfire before overpowering them.
“They came for their guns and carted them away after the attack,” a local source said.
Videos circulating online show vehicles allegedly used by the attackers as they fled.
The incident came just hours after bandits struck in Bokungi, Tsaragi community of Edu Local Government Area, Kwara State, where they killed one man and rustled nearly 1,000 cattle from Fulani settlements.
Witnesses said the armed men, who invaded the area around midnight, fired into the air to disperse residents before making away with hundreds of cows.
Muhammadu, the newly married son of one of the herders, was shot dead during the raid.
“They took almost 700 cows from Garuba after failing to break into his house,” a resident recounted, adding that soldiers and vigilantes later attempted to intercept the attackers.
Villagers have since criticised security forces for what they described as a lack of decisive action to halt the raids.