Some hoodlums, suspected to be repentant Boko Haram insurgents, have invaded a police station in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Tuesday, April 30.
The attack, Politics Nigeria understands, was an attempt to set free their colleagues that were arrested earlier over alleged drug offences.
But Kenneth Daso, the Police Public Relations Officer in Borno State, who confirmed that there was an incident at the police station, said the assailants were repelled by officers on duty.
Daso said the security breach was heralded by an 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 said a serious investigation is currently ongoing to unravel those who were behind the acts.
However, some eyewitnesses said the attackers, dressed in military camouflage and wielding cutlasses, forcefully gained access into the police station and whisked 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.
Another witness said the police operatives in the station did their best to repel the attackers but were subdued.
“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.
Residents in the area said they were scared by the development, saying the incident was a clear indication that Maiduguri is no longer safe.
Fanta Modu, who owns a restaurant around the area, urged the government to reconsider its approach to issues around the de-radicalisation exercise of the federal government.
