Four policemen killed as gunmen attack police formations across Nigeria

At least four policemen were killed this week in various attacks on police stations in the South-eastern part of the country this week.

Several private and operational vehicles of the police were also destroyed and razed in the attacks.

The stations were also not spared as most of them were destroyed and razed down to ashes.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported a spate of attacks on police officers and police facilities, lately, in the South-east and South-south regions.

The increasing attacks have compounded the security challenges in the two regions.

Apart from over a decade old insurgency and terrorism perpetrated by the Boko Haram sect in the North-east, several states in Nigeria have been grappling with the problems of kidnapping, banditry, frequent clashes between farmers and herders, and inter-communal conflicts.

Following the attacks on security outfits in the two regions, the governors and heads of security agencies in the five states in the South-east had a regional summit on security, where they agreed to establish a joint security outfit to check the insecurity in the region.

IPOB, a pro-Biafra group, has been accused of being responsible for some of the attacks against the police in the South-east, but the group has denied any involvement.

PREMIUM TIMES highlights some of the attacks on the security within this week.

Dunokofia Police Station

Two police officers were killed in Dunokofia Local Government of Anambra State, in a deadly attack by gunmen on a police facility in the early hours of Monday.

Some vehicles parked at the station’s premises were razed during the attack at the Zone 13 police headquarters at Ukpo, near Awka.

The slain officers were identified as Ishaku Aura, an inspector, and Uzoma Uwaebuka, a police constable.

The commissioner of police and some senior police officers visited the scene of the attack, immediately after the incident, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

Uzo-Uwani

Two police officers were shot dead by unknown gunmen during an attack on Adani police station on Wednesday in Enugu State, Nigeria’s South-east.

The Adani Police Station incident in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area started in the mid night according to police officials.

The official said the station was violently attacked and set ablaze at about 2.30 a.m. by yet-to -be identified gunmen.

He said the operatives who were on duty during the attack, engaged the assailants in a gun battle, adding that some of them escaped with gunshot injuries.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Aliyu, has since ordered the deployment of “operational and intelligence assets” to fish out the attackers.

Niger Military camp

In the same week, no fewer than 60 bandits invaded the military camp in the early hours of Wednesday in the Zagzaga community in the Munya Local Government Area of Niger State.

They engaged the soldiers in a gun battle, leading to heavy casualties on the side of the bandits

According to witnesses, the bandits stormed the community at about 4 am and divided themselves into three groups.

While one group made their way straight to the military camp located at a Junior Secondary School about 500 meters from the town where they engaged the soldiers in a gun duel, the second group laid ambush on the major road leading to the community, Punch newspaper reported.

The third group were said to have made their way to the community to prevent any reinforcements from the community vigilantes and the youths.