Tragedy struck in Benin City, Edo State, on Tuesday, July 16, 2025, as a police sergeant attached to a Chinese expatriate was shot dead by gunmen suspected to be armed robbers.
The officer, identified as Sergeant Aminu Yusuf, was reportedly escorting the expatriate during a routine cash movement when the attack occurred around 2:45 p.m. along First East Circular Road.
According to sources, the expatriate had just withdrawn a large sum of money—reportedly running into millions of naira—from a commercial bank on Sapele Road before they were ambushed by four armed men.
The attackers opened fire on the vehicle, fatally injuring the officer and making away with his AK-47 rifle (breech number BD 347851), 30 rounds of ammunition, and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Sergeant Yusuf was rushed to a specialist hospital in Benin but was declared dead on arrival. His body has been deposited at the morgue.
The slain officer was attached to a private company as part of an approved police security detail for the Chinese national, who was not reported to be physically harmed during the incident.
At the time of filing this report, the Edo State Police Command had not officially confirmed the incident. However, security sources revealed that a manhunt has been launched to track down the assailants and recover the stolen weapon and money.
The brazen daylight attack has raised fresh concerns about the safety of police escorts and the growing boldness of armed robbers in urban areas.
