A fresh attack on a police station in Borno State has led to the death of a policeman, taking the number of police operatives reportedly killed in the state to no fewer than six, since January.
The recent incident at a Jakana Police station in Konduga Local Government Area (LGA) of the state also led to the death of a woman, Daily Trust reports.
The assailants reportedly invaded the police station on Sunday early hours after toppling the officers on duty.
They had allegedly razed two patrol vehicles and a motorcycle, carting away arms and ammunition.
As of press time, the Borno police spokesperson, Nahun Kenneth, has yet to respond to calls and texts for comments.
However, THE WHISTLER can report that the state has recorded frequent threats to police stations and formations, leading to the death of six officers since the beginning of the year.
Recall that four officers were killed while defending the Police Quarters in Gajiram Town, Nganzai LGA of the state, on February 2.
The Borno Command told THE WHISTLER at the time that the armed men had plans to overwhelm the police, but the reinforcement by the police mobile team to the scene forestalled more fatalities and the carting away of any weapons.
Also on May 20, suspected members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed a Divisional Police Office, Sunday Pius attached to Marte LGA of the state.
The DPO alongside two other officers who sustained injuries fcc were attacked in an ambush operation by the terrorists who had attempted to attack a health worker in the area.
The latest attack happened despite an ongoing curfew in the Marte Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State after a Divisional Police Officer was killed by suspected terrorists.
The DPO, Sunday Pius, attached to the LGA was reportedly killed on Monday night, and two policemen were injured following an ambush by the terrorists who had attempted to attack a health worker in the area.
The health worker, upon seeing suspicious movement of the assailants at his residence, escaped into the police station.
The police had mobilised to counter the threat but were reportedly waylaid by alleged ISWAP fighters who shot the DPO and injured others around him, Police said.
Following the DPO’s death, troops of the Nigerian Army had ordered the residents of the area to remain indoors with an alleged threat to kill anyone found outside, according to the army information.
The troops had allegedly accused the residents of conniving with the ISWAP terrorists while reportedly launching a house-to-house search during the curfew.
THE WHISTLER gathered from top security sources in the state that the attacks on police formations are tactics by the Non-State Actors to neutralise security threshold and make the host community vulnerable to attackers.
The assailants also aim at carting away arms and ammunition from these formations to strengthen their capacity.
Borno: Six Officers Killed In 8 Months As Police Man Dies In Fresh Terrorist Attack On Police Station is first published on The Whistler Newspaper