ISWAP terrorists gun down police officer, set patrol vehicles ablaze

A police outpost in Geidam Local Government Area of Yobe State came under attack early Wednesday when suspected members of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) stormed the facility, killing one officer.

According to sources, the gunmen spent about 45 minutes at the location, during which they set two patrol vehicles on fire and made away with another.

It was learnt that the attackers arrived around 1:30am, approaching the station on foot before unleashing sporadic gunfire.

“In what appeared like a silent operation, the insurgents killed one police officer, opened the cells, burned two patrol vehicles, and took away one patrol vehicle,” a security source revealed.

He added that intelligence reports suggested the ISWAP fighters were regrouping in parts of neighbouring Yunusari Local Government Area.“Credible reports said they are assembling in Sukdu, Buhari, Mattati, and Bulabulin,” he said.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Yobe State Police Command, SP Dungus Abdulkarim, said the attackers may have targeted the division specifically to seize vehicles.“But, we are still investigating the matter,” he said.

The latest assault comes amid a resurgence of violent incidents nationwide, which has recently forced President Bola Tinubu to put his foreign trips on hold.

Only last week, terrorists killed several soldiers, Civilian Joint Task Force members and a Brigadier-General. On Monday, bandits invaded Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS), Maga, in Kebbi State, killing one staff member and abducting 25 students.

Two days later, gunmen attacked a church in Kwara State, killing some worshippers and kidnapping 30 people.

Reacting to the growing wave of attacks, Minister of Information Mohammed Idris said President Bola Tinubu had placed the nation’s security agencies on their “highest alert”. He spoke during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.

(DAILY TRUST)