Tension is rising in Kokori community, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, after an unidentified man attacked a Nigerian police officer and a group of environmental law enforcement officers attempting to make arrests.
In a footage obtained by SaharaReporters, the man, wearing a blue shirt, was seen slapping one of the environmental officers while restraining a police officer, preventing him from retaliating as another individual attacked him.
According to sources, the attack occurred on Thursday when the officers arrived in the community to execute a bench warrant against the suspect.
The situation quickly escalated as the man and his accomplices confronted the officials.
“They were attacked by the defendant and his thugs,” a source familiar with the matter told SaharaReporters.
The video also showed the suspect walking up to a police officer seated in a Sienna car and hitting him.
Meanwhile, other assailants turned on an environmental officer who had confronted their leader.
Despite the violence, the ringleader reportedly showed no remorse.
When the brutalised police officer confronted him about his torn uniform, the suspect boasted that nothing would happen.
WATCH: Tension In Delta Community As Resident Assaults Policeman, Environmental Officers, Tears Police Uniform pic.twitter.com/xq4rMtKeHF
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) February 8, 2025
When SaharaReporters contacted the Delta State Police spokesperson, DSP Edafe Bright, he confirmed the attack and stated, “We are on the trail of the attackers.”
Meanwhile, it would be recalled that hundreds of residents of the Egbo-Kokori community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State staged a protest on Tuesday at the Police Area Command in Ughelli, decrying what they described as incessant attacks, rapes, and the destruction of their farmlands by suspected armed herdsmen.
The protesters, including elderly women, men, and youths, carried leaf branches and chanted anti-herdsmen slogans, demanding urgent government intervention.
“We don’t want killer herdsmen in our community anymore,” they had chanted, expressing their frustration over being unable to access their farms due to fear of attacks.
Elderly women in the community also voiced their fears.
“We can only go to our farms in groups because anyone who goes alone risks being assaulted,” said one Mama Patricia.
“Last year, they agreed to leave after signing an undertaking, but now they are back, claiming we are killing their cattle. They drive us away from our own farms, leaving us trapped in our homes,” added another protester, Philo Utuedor.
The protesters called on security agencies and the Delta State government to take immediate action to protect their community.
