Gunmen, suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect, on Sunday night killed five security personnel in Jigawa State. The gunmen also attacked the country home of the former inspector general of police (IGP), Alhaji Hafiz Ringim, a divisional police station in Ringim town and branch of Unity Bank Plc in the state in an operation that left a huge scar on the community.
At the end of the explosions and gunshots in the sleepy town, the suspects had gunned down three police officers, namely Sergeant Bashir Lawal, Corporal Alulu Buba and Police Constable Ibrahim Mohammed.
Daily Sun was told that the suspected sect members, on arrival in the town, which is situated on the boundary between the state and Kano State, attacked the residence of the former IGP, allegedly using a rocket launcher to blow up the front perimeter fence of the building. The suspects also detonated a couple of explosives on the Armored Personnel Courier (APC) parked in front of the house, said the source, who added that it was at that spot that Constable Ibrahim Mohammed was killed.
Daily Sun gathered the mobile police officers attached to the residence, however, survived by the whiskers as they were said to have retreated into the building for cover while the explosion lasted.
From this point, the suspected sect members were said to have proceeded to Ringim Police Division, which is situated just a distance from the country home of the former inspector general police. “On arrival at the division, they accosted Sergeant Bashir Lawal and asked him to take them to the armory of the division.
The officer obliged their request but was shot afterwards alongside Corporal Alulu Buba. “It is generally believed that the suspects subsequently made away with an unspecified quantity of arms from the armory of the Division,” the source said.
According to the source, the suspects then moved to the Ringim branch of Unity Bank and detonated some improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the branch, adding that in the process of the operation, the suspects killed two of the guards of the bank, namely Malam Uba and Malam Ubale Adamu.
It was gathered that as at the press time yesterday, some improvised explosive devices were picked up in the premises of the Ringim branch of the bank. Residents told Daily Sun that they were frightened by the sound of explosions and the gunshots that rent the air during the night, saying that it was such a frightful night for them. When contacted on phone, the spokesman of the Jigawa State Command, DSP Abdul Jinjiri told Daily Sun that at about 8.30 pm or thereabout, they received a distress call to the effect that their division in Ringim was under attack.
He added that following the call, they deployed their officers to Ringim town, adding that when the men arrived at the scene, the suspects had fled the town.
The command’s spokesman, while confirming the death of three police officers and two bank’s guards, said he could not give information on the exact number of those who attacked the town, apart from the fact that they were many in number. He said investigations had commenced into the attack.
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