Gunmen kill 7 policemen in Bauchi, Borno

Gunmen ran berserk in Bauchi and Borno
states yesterday, killing seven policemen in
the process. The attackers also set ablaze a
police station and a local government
secretariat. Four policemen were killed in
Borno State, while several others were injured
when the gunmen, suspected to be members
of the Jamatul ahlis Sunnah lid Daawa wal
Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram Islamic
sect, attacked the Gubio Police Station in
Gubio, the headquarters of Gubio Local
Government Council.
The station, along with the local government
secretariat were burnt down, a resident, Mallam
Usman Gubio, said. "Many people ran away from
their houses and took refuge in safe places.
We have never experienced such in this local
government, but I do not know if any civilian was
killed.
However, I saw about four corpses of policemen
being carried in a vehicle. Security has now been
beefed up around the local government and we also
learnt that the police have made some arrests," he
said.
Gubio explained that when the residents heard
gunshots, they rushed into their houses and locked
their doors but had to also abandon their houses
when some of their relatives came and asked them to
leave the area, as it was no longer safe.
The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Bala Hassan,
confirmed the incident to newsmen.
He said: "Two people, including a civilian, were killed
in the attack in Gubio Local Government."
The commissioner did not, however, give any further
clarification, as his phone went off after he confirmed
the killings.
he spokesman of Joint Task Force, JTF, Operation
Restore Order in Borno, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, said the
situation in Gubio was purely a police affair and that
they should be contacted.
It was also a tragic day for the police in Bauchi as
three of its men, two inspectors and a corporal, on
patrol along Bauchi-Gombe road were gunned down.
The gunmen made away with the rifles of the three
policemen after shooting them.
National Mirror learnt that the hoodlums attacked the
policemen at about 8:50a.m. when they went on
patrol. It was learnt that the policemen had just
resumed duty at the patrol spot when the gunmen
opened fire on them.
Two of them died on the spot, while the third person
died in the hospital.
Eyewitness accounts said the fourth policeman
narrowly escaped death and ran into the bush with
his rifle. Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer,
Mohammed Auyo, confirmed the attack to newsmen
in his office.
Auyo, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP,
said investigation had begun into the attack. He said
that a team of policemen had been drafted to the
scene. The PPRO expressed optimism that the
hoodlums would be apprehended.
One of the policemen at the scene of the incident
said the hoodlums were still there before their
arrival. The policeman, who did not want his name
mentioned, added that he saw where the gunmen sat
before they got to the place.
He solicited for useful information from members of
the public that would assist the police in arresting
the suspects.
No group has, however, claimed responsibility for the
attack.