At least 30 police officers in Nigeria have been killed in an ambush by a local militia in the central Nasarawa state, officials have said.
They were on their way to arrest the leader of the outlawed Ombatse "cult" when gunmen opened fire, a state spokesman told the BBC.
Sani Musa Mairiga said they were forcing local villagers to swear an oath of allegiance to the group.
The state police chief said that 17 officers were still missing.
One source at the hospital where the bodies were taken told the BBC dozens more policemen were killed in the attack.
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has cut short his visit to South Africa and cancelled a state visit to Namibia to oversee the response to the latest violence.
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