A group of suspected former Boko Haram members, believed to be repentant, attacked a police station in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, on Tuesday, April 30.
Reports indicate that the motive behind the attack was to free their colleagues who had been arrested earlier on drug-related charges.
However, Kenneth Daso, the Police Public Relations Officer in Borno State, confirmed that there was an incident at the police station and stated that the attackers were successfully repelled by the officers on duty.
Daso mentioned that the security breach was thwarted due to a proactive operation carried out by the police.
“On the 30/04/24 at about 1745hrs in a joint operation raid at the Kasuwar Fara, following an intelligence report that some drug peddlers, smokers, repentant and Boko Haram insurgents are indulging in nefarious activities, eight persons were arrested including seven male and a female in that operation with 476grams of illicit substances,” Daso said.
“As you know, such activities have been banned in the area by the state government since last year.
“Few hours after the arrest, some unscrupulous persons, so-called repentant Boko Haram, dressed up in military attire tried to invade our police station at Ibrahim Taiwo but were repelled immediately.
“Thereafter, they went and attacked Nigeria Immigration Service and NDLEA check points after the welcome to the township gate and they burnt it down,” he added.
Daso stated that a thorough investigation is currently underway to identify those responsible for the acts.
Nevertheless, some eyewitnesses reported that the attackers, wearing military camouflage and carrying cutlasses, forcibly entered the police station and took away some suspects.
“About 20 of the attackers forced their way into the police station and escaped with some of the detained members.
“They left some policemen on duty wounded; they also went on rampage attacking passers-by with cutlasses, before reinforcements by the CRACKS team arrived,” a source told DailyTrust.
One witness mentioned that the police officers at the station tried their best to fight off the attackers but were overpowered.
“Some of the police operatives took to their heels but returned when reinforcements came. We were told that the actual suspects could not be freed; only some people at the counter escaped. It was a sad incident,” he said.
Local residents expressed fear over the incident, stating that it showed Maiduguri is no longer a safe place.
Fanta Modu, who owns a restaurant in the area, called on the government to rethink its approach to the federal government’s de-radicalization efforts.
