This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
On August 6, 2019, a tragic incident unfolded in Nigeria's north-eastern state of Taraba, leaving three police officers dead and a civilian killed in the crossfire.
The police officers, sergeants Usman Danzumi and Dahiru Musa, and inspector Mark Ediale, were transporting a suspect when they came under attack from the military, who mistook them for kidnappers.
The police have taken to Twitter to express their outrage and demand answers from the army, posting photos and names of the officers killed with the hashtag #WhereIsEspiritDCorp.
The police also want to know the whereabouts of the handcuffed suspect, Alhaji Hamisu, who is alleged to be a notorious kidnap kingpin and escaped during the gun battle.
The incident highlights the fractious relationship between Nigeria's security agencies, which are fighting Islamist insurgents in the north-east, confronting deadly clashes between farmers and herdsmen, and dealing with rampant kidnappings nationwide.
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military general, called a security meeting after the police tweets appeared, but the Chief of Air Staff, Marshal Abubakar, did not comment on the issue.
