Members of the Boko Haram sect flexed muscles in Kano Tuesday night. Just like they did on January 20, the sect members had planned another coordinated attack that was targeted at five different locations, including police stations, police barracks, prison yard and a secondary school.
They held Kano residents to ransom as multiple explosions and sporadic gunshots lasted till dawn. At the end, pointblanknews.com gathered from security sources that the near failed coordinated attack left 17 members of the sect dead, while a police corporal lost his life and Sergeant severely wounded. Though the threatening sounds have subsided, it will take a while for residents of Kano to come over the effects. Kano state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim K. Idris also admitted that one of his men, a police corporal, Saidu Umar, lost his life while a another officer, Sergeant Baba Williams sustained bullet wounds on his left leg during a gun duel at Dala Police Division.
The Police boss who said security forces matched the strength of the insurgents revealed that the terrorist elements had planned a coordinated attack in five different locations. He named the places attacked by the sect members to include Dala Police Division, Jakara Police Barracks, Goron Dutse Prison Yard, 52 Squadron Challawa and Junior Secondary School Sabuwar Doka in Ungogo Local Government Area. He stated that at Dala, the insurgents numbering about 30 attacked Police men on duty with assault Riffles and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), adding that police men gallantly repelled the attacks.
“During the gun duel, the superior power of police killed 10 of the extremists. They abandoned their motor vehicles—a Golf Car, Bus containing large quantity of drugs and syringes, Toyota Corolla, cash sum of N100, 000, 10 undetonated explosives and some drugs for First Aid. Also recovered from the extremists are three AK 47 Riffles, eight Magazines with hundreds of live ammunitions. Three suspects were arrested while 10 others were killed,” the Commissioner of Police stated.
At Jakara, the insurgents threw several IEDs which shattered part of the Police Out-Post, which according to the police, has been under key and lock since December last year. There were sporadic gun shots at Jakara which left two of the sect members dead during a gun duel with Barrack Guards. The attack at Goron Dutse Prison was unsuccessful as no casualty or damages were recorded, while five sect members were killed at 52 Sqaudron in Challawa during a fierce gun battle with Mobile Police men.
The Police boss also stated that at Sabuwar Abuja in Panshekara area, explosions went off, while a Boko Haram member was killed at a private resident, adding that, “a sound of blast was heard at Sabuwar Doka Junior Secondary School in a suburb of Ungogo, immediately, a team of policemen and anti-bomb squad were drafted to the scene and it was discovered that one class room as partially damaged by the explosion.” According to the Commissioner of Police, items recovered from the Sect members at different locations include five Assault Riffles, 14 IEDs, 220 Live Ammunitions, five Motor Vehicles, three motor cycle, the sum of N100, 000 and large quantities of drugs and syringes.
Pointblanknews.com reports that security is further beefed up in the ancient city as vehicles, motor cycles and pedestrians are thoroughly searched, just as people were asked to hands-up at several checkpoints.
The development, however, partially affected business activities as most people chose to stay back at home, following threatening sounds of bomb blasts early yesterday morning. Also, Pointblanknews.com authoritatively gathered that most of the blasts heard were sounds of explosives safely defused by the Police Anti-Explosive Ordinance Unit. As at the time of filling this report, Kano remains calm and peaceful but with palpable apprehension.
The spokesman of the Kano Joint Security Task Force (JTF), Lt. Ikedichi Iweha in a Press Statement also reacted to the Tuesday attack. His words:
“At about 1810Hrs yesterday, 26 June 2012, multiple Improvised Explosive Devices were detonated by members of the terrorist sect at Goron Dutse and Dala general areas of Kano akin to the 20 January 2012 attacks in the state. The terrorist elements eventually gained access to the Dala Police Division outpost were they killed a Police Corporal and were about to loot the arms store of the Police division before the swift response of security forces.
“On sighting operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF), the terrorists attempted to flee the area but were engaged by troops of the JTF. After the intense gun battle, seven of the terrorists were killed and several wounded. Arms and ammunitions were recovered from them as well as IEDs which as at this moment are still being discovered and detonated by the Police Anti Explosive Ordinance Unit safely.
“Area search is still on going to apprehend those with gunshot wounds as well as other unexploded IEDs. The JTF appeals to members of the public to report immediately, any person seen with any form of wound or any suspicious package for prompt action.
“Gentlemen of the press, you would recollect that a couple of days ago, members of the terrorist sect staged a prison break in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State were about forty inmates were freed. As efforts are on to track the fleeing inmates, another situation was averted by the swift response of the JTF in Kano yesterday as the JTF believes that the intent of the terrorists was to first destabilize the closest reinforcement to the Goron Dutse prisons and then storm the prison for a possible prison break. This attempt was frustrated by the JTF.
“This latest incidence once again reveals that members of the terrorist’s sect would stop at nothing to destabilize the peace of the state and commercial activities which are slowly picking up. All efforts must collectively be on deck to root out these terrorists.
“The JTF once again thanks the good people of Kano state for the cooperation it has been receiving from them. The JTF urges the general public to continue to cooperate with it in the area of providing information on suspicious persons within the communities and to remain vigilant to apprehend terrorists who may be lurking around to drop IEDs.