Fresh details have emerged about the fierce September 19 ambush at Agu Centre, Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, where a joint security squad led by Police ASP Danlamin Usman, popularly known as Dan Zuru, faced a vastly superior force of suspected herdsmen, allied bandits and hired militias.
According to insider accounts, ASP Zuru commanded a Nigeria Police tactical unit working alongside the local security outfit “Anyam Nyór” in an operation designed to flush out gunmen who had regrouped after earlier losses in the Utange–Mbatyula axis.
Acting on intelligence, the team advanced into Agu Centre unaware that hundreds of reinforcements, including mercenaries from neighbouring Taraba State, had joined the armed herders.
When the officers arrived, they were met with intense automatic gunfire, AK-47s, sub-machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades.
Despite being outnumbered, Zuru and his colleagues, including veteran officer John “Bushman” and Commander Mike Tuurga of the Anyam Nyór force, held their ground.
Eyewitnesses say Zuru directed covering fire as his men retreated under heavy attack. Commander Tuurga was wounded, while Bushman reportedly manned a mounted machine gun to stall the advancing fighters. Zuru stayed behind to ensure his team escaped, exchanging fire until ammunition on the main gun ran dry.
The clash left several security operatives dead and vehicles destroyed by RPG fire.
ASP Dan Zuru was eventually listed among those killed in action, his body recovered days later with seven other fallen officers.
Local leaders and security chiefs have hailed Zuru’s last stand as an act of extraordinary bravery.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has arrested six suspects in an ongoing response operation in Benue State following a deadly attack on Police Tactical Teams by suspected armed herdsmen and local militias at Agu Centre, Katsina-Ala/Ukum Local Government Area of the state.
The arrested suspects are in custody and assisting with useful information.
