Nigeria: Gunmen Attack Prison in Borno, Free Inmates

Maiduguri/Damaturu — Gunmen on Thursday evening attacked a prison in Gwoza town, about 135 kilometres south of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and set all the inmates free, locals told Weekly Trust yesterday.

Witnesses also said the gunmen who stormed the prison in commando style also set ablaze buildings within the prison.

Residents told our correspondent on phone that the gunmen stormed the prison close to the Emir of Gwoza's palace around 6:30pm and set the place ablaze using Improvised Explosives Device (IED).

Weekly Trust gathered that all the inmates at the prison were set free by the gunmen who came to the area with three vehicles, chanting 'Allahu Akbar'.

Our correspondent learnt that one person was hit by stray bullet during the attack and was rushed to the General Hospital in the town for medical attention.

Weekly Trust also learnt that the whole town was thrown into pandemonium as people run for the safety of their homes as gunshots rented the air.

The gunmen who were said to have operated for more than an hour, it was learnt, fled after the incident.

There was no official statement on the incident, but a top security source confirmed the attack on the prison yard to Weekly Trust. Also in Potiskum, Yobe State, gunmen Thursday night killed a police constable and prison warder in their residents located along old Army Barrack road, in Potiskum, Yobe State.

Weekly Trust gathered that the assailants stormed the officers' residents around 8:00pm and shot them dead at a close range.

A resident in the area said the officers went to buy some provisions at a nearby shop when the gunmen hid inside the house and waited for their arrival. "They shot them at close range and fled the area immediately," he said.

He said the remains of the officers were later conveyed to the Potiskum General Hospital.

Yobe State Police Commissioner, Sanusi Ahmed Rufa'I confirmed the incident to Weekly Trust. "Yes, a Police constable and a prison warder were killed, though I don't have details of the prison warder, but my officer was killed inside his family house located at old Army Barrack road."

He said there was security report that the suspected Boko Haram members had planned to launched an attack and bombed some places in the town.

"I spent the Thursday night there with my men to make sure nothing happened, it was when I later on returned to Damaturu this morning I received signal that they were killed on the out skirt of the town," he said.

from allAfrica/DAILYTRUST
By Yahaya Ibrahim Hamisu Kabir Matazu, 16 March 2013

Read More

Nigeria: One Cop, Four Insurgents Killed in Yobe Clash

Maiduguri — A policeman and four suspected members of the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda'awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, were killed in Potiskum on Saturday during a fierce fight between insurgents and security forces, the Joint Task Force ( JTF) said in a statement yesterday.

Residents of Yindiski, a suburb along Gashua road in the outskirt of Potiskum, said the casualty figure may be much higher because they heard multiple gunshots for over four hours at Juma'a, a nearby settlement behind the Maximum Prisons Quarters in the area.

They said the shooting started shortly after a combined military and police troops cordoned a location and restricted movements of people.

A local said trouble started when some gunmen fired at a soldier and a policeman who were manning a checkpoint.

Spokesman of the JTF, Lieutenant Lazarus Eli said a cordon and search operation was carried out at Yandiski where 59 suspects were arrested during the operation for interrogation.

"The JTF had an encounter with suspected terrorists. Four of the suspected terrorists were killed in the encounter. One policeman attached to the JTF lost his life and a soldier sustained injuries," he said.

from allAfrica/Daily Trust
By Hamza Idris, 31 December 2012

Related articles

• Nigeria: Extremists Kill 15 in Their Sleep (allafrica.com)
• JTF Kill Four Boko Haram, Recovers Weapons In Potiskum. (greatriversofhope.wordpress.com)

Read More

6 Killed in Attack on Nigerian Church

Location of the four cities in north eastern Nigeria where the Boko Haram conflict took place. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gunmen in northeastern Nigeria killed at least six people early Tuesday when they opened fire at a church during a Christmas Eve service.

Officials and residents say the attack happened shortly after midnight in a village outside the city of Potiskum in Yobe state.  There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Yobe is next to Borno state, the home of Islamic radical sect Boko Haram.  Rights groups say the militants have killed well over 1,000 people in the past four years.

Boko Haram attacked churches at Christmas in both 2010 and 2011.  Last year's attacks killed more than 40 people.

The group is fighting to impose a strict form of Islamic law in northern Nigeria, where Muslims are the majority.

In his traditional Christmas message on Tuesday, Pope Benedict prayed for peace in Nigeria, where he said savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians.

from VOA News

December 25, 2012

Read More

Nigeria: Gunmen Burn Police Station, Killed Two Cops, Destroy GSM Masts, Primary School

Damaturu — Unidentified gunmen on Sunday morning attacked and burnt a police station, killed two police officers, destroyed GSM masts and burnt a primary school in the headquarters of Fika Local Government Area of Yobe state.

Daily Trust gathered that the gunmen, close to thirty in number, stormed the town and unleashed terror on the affected areas when people are about to come out for morning prayers.

A resident told our correspondent on phone that the incident occurred at around 4:20am, around the time people were preparing for morning prayers (magrib)

"We heard multiple blasts and several gunshots some minutes to dawn prayers. We all stayed and pray indoors, later in the day light we discovered that the central police station was burnt, MTN and Etisalat masts were also destroyed along with a primary school that was reduced to ashes," he said

A security source told our correspondent that the gunmen carted away twenty rifles and other weapons from the Police station armory.

Yobe state police commissioner, Patrick Egbuniwe confirmed that, "...The two police men were killed in an effort to repeal the attack, and the assailants escaped with some weapons."

Movement was restricted in the town for over five hours to enable security agents carry out their investigation.

However, the police commissioner said he does not have details yet if the JTF reinforcement were able to make any arrest due to difficulty in contacting DPO in charge the area as a result of network problem.

Residents in the town have started fleeing the town, back to Potiskum town where many people migrated from in the last ten days for safety.

from allAfrica/Daily Trust
By Hamisu Kabir Matazu, 4 November 2012

Related articles

• Gunmen burn police station, school in Yobe (vanguardngr.com)
• Nigeria gunmen burn police station, school in restive north (nation.co.ke)
• Gunmen attack Nigerian police station; kill 2 cops (cnn.com)

Read More

13 killed in northern Nigeria attacks

YOBE, Nigeria, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian military authorities on Sunday said at least 13 people were killed in the various violent attacks carried out within three days in Potiskum, a restive town in northeastern Yobe State.

State spokesperson of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) Lt. Lazarus Eli told reporters that the 13 persons included two serving policemen, a retired policeman and his three children, four civilians, a retired custom officer and his son, as well as a suspected Boko Haram member.

"Five of the militants were shot dead by military troops and their bodies were taken away by fellow sect members," said the military officer who confirmed that the attacks were carried out by the Boko Haram sect in the west African country.

Many of the militants might have escaped with severe gun injuries, he added.

Lazarus said security forces would continue to search for bodies of the sect members that were shot dead in the fierce gun battle with the military.

Military sources had told Xinhua on Friday that many people were feared dead in overnight gun battle between security forces and militants of the Boko Haram sect in Yobe.

Militants of the sect staged an uprising in the northeastern city of Maiduguri in 2009, attacking state institutions including prisons, police stations and schools. More than 1,500 people have been reportedly killed ever since, either in the attacks or clashes with local security forces.

from XINHUA
2012-10-22 05:36:11

Read More

At least 34 killed following gunmen attack in Nigeria

An attack on a cattle market in northeastern Nigeria by gunmen armed with explosives has left at least 34 dead and the toll is likely to climb, an emergency source said on Thursday.

The fighting late Wednesday happened in Potiskum, a town in Nigeria’s Yobe state.

A Nigerian official quoted by AFP said, “Thirty-four bodies were deposited at the hospital.” He said the toll was likely to be more than 50 dead because families were also burying relatives’ bodies without bringing them to the hospital.

Police confirmed the attack happened but said they had no details.

The attack does not appear to be the work of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is waging an increasingly violent sectarian fight against Nigeria’s weak central government. Cattle raids remain common across the north, as herdsmen lead teams across the arid plains.

from KHAAMA

Read More