GUNMEN BLOW UP POLICE STATIONS, BANKS

…kill seven officers

Less than one week after the declaration of a ceasefire by the Boko Haram Islamic sect, gunmen yesterday struck in some states in the North, leaving seven policemen and one civilian dead.

The onslaught began late on Wednesday and continued till yesterday.

Also, two police stations and banks were razed in the attacks that took place in Kaduna, Kano and Gombe states.

In Kaduna State, suspected terrorists bombed a police station in the troubled Birnin Gwari Local Government Council, leaving three police officers and a resident dead.

National Mirror gathered that the attack occurred in the midnight of Wednesday and lasted for hours just as the police and soldiers in the area were helpless and could not mount a counter-attack against the armed gang.

And in Kano, gunmen in the early hours of yesterday struck in the metropolis, killing two policemen.

The gunmen blew up the Bunkure police station with explosives, according to sources, killing the two officers instantly.

The victims were simply identified as a sergeant and a corporal on duty when the station was attacked.

A Kaduna resident, who did not want his name mentioned, said the bandits in their coordinated attacks planted Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, around the police station, which were detonated and followed by gunshots.

Another resident said two commercial banks in the area and other neighbouring buildings close to the affected police station were razed.

“It was a terrible incident because after Dogon Dawan attacks last year, this is another bloody one.

“Some communities were living in peace until yesterday’s bomb attack on the police station. Two banks were attacked too. Three policemen and a civilian were killed,” the resident said.

Our correspondent also learnt that many people, who were caught in the exchange of gunfire, sustained injuries and were taken to undisclosed hospitals, even as millions of naira were reportedly stolen from the two banks that were attacked.

National Mirror gathered that the bandits that attacked Birnin Gwari were part of a group believed to be hiding in a nearby forest.

It was learnt that prior to Wednesday night’s attacks, the bandits had launched assaults in several villages and districts, including Kuyelo and Randagi on Tuesday and Friday last week.

The state Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mallam Aminu Lawan, confirmed the killings of three police officers and a civilian in the attacks.

He said: “We visited the scene of the attacks in Birnin Gwari and I can confirm that three police officers and a resident were killed. We have deployed more security in the area.”

Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero also visited the scene along with some state security chiefs.

Meanwhile, the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Alhaji Zubairu Jubrin, has called on the government to establish a mobile police or military formation in the area to checkmate incessant attacks by terrorists.

National Mirror had reported that apprehension had gripped Kaduna State residents over the influx of commercial motorcycle riders popularly known as Okada, from Kano where they had been banned from operating.

Assistant Inspector- General of Police, AIG, in charge of Zone 1, Mr. Olufemi Omojola, at a press conference yesterday confirmed the Kano attack, saying investigation had commenced.

Omojola told reporters that a wing of the police station was razed when the gunmen suspected to be terrorists threw explosives into the station.

“One of the wings of the station was razed when explosives were thrown at it,” Omojola said, adding that as at press time, he could not confirm whether the perpetrators were members of the Boko Haram sect.

In Gombe State, two policemen were also killed yesterday when gunmen struck at a checkpoint at the Central Roundabout in Gombe town while a physically challenged who was passing by was also wounded.

An eyewitness, who did not want his name mentioned, told newsmen that the two gunmen who alighted from a tricycle, popularly known as Keke NAPEP, about 6:15a.m., went to the policemen at the checkpoint, directly opposite Gombe Line garage and sprayed them with bullets. In the process, a stray bullet hit a crippled who was immediately rushed to an unknown hospital.

He said the gunmen wore caftans with masks on their faces, stressing that the mask did not generate any curiosity because it was very cold in the morning.

The witness told our correspondent that he gunmen immediately left the scene on foot through different directions.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Fwaje Atajiri, in a statement said the area had been fortified by two patrol vehicles and men from the Rapid Response Squad of Gombe Central Division.

He said that the hoodlums struck immediately the police team left the area about 6a.m., adding that investigations had begun and the culprits would soon be brought to book.

Source: National Mirror