Nine gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram sect were yesterday killed by soldiers in a gun duel at Tudun Wada Dakadai town in Tudun Wada local government area of Kano State.
The Joint Task Force (JTF) which carried out the operation has recovered a cache of ammunition, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), handsets and police uniforms from the suspects.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the gunmen invaded the town, a distance of 100km from Kano city, in the dead of the night and set the house of the local government’s divisional police officer (DPO) and the police station ablaze as well as burnt down a bank and a number of vehicles in the area.
Brigade Commander of the 3rd Army Brigade, Kano, Brigadier General Iliyasu Isa Abbah, who confirmed the story at a press briefing yesterday, said the suspects invaded the town around 1am and had successfully carted away a cache of arms and ammunition from the police station which were later recovered from them and they also set the station ablaze.
General Iliyasu said that immediately the JTF got wind of the attack, “our men rushed to the town and began the operation. We were able to kill nine of them, and arrest two while investigation is continuing.”
According to him, one out of the three vehicles recovered from the suspects was used as operational vehicle where they packed all the ammunition while the remaining vehicles conveyed the suspects.
It was in the ensuing gun battle that the army overpowered the suspects and recovered arms and ammunition they looted from the police station and a number of IEDs.
They wanted to cart away money in the bank’s vault worth N2million but were not successful as the section did not open for them to remove the money from the bank, he said.
The Commander disclosed that the items from the suspects include two assault riffles, two AK 47, 70 cans of tear gas, two small guns, three pistols, three police jackets, two police uniforms, 29 magazines and various sizes of rounds of ammunitions recovered.
He warned the general public to remain calm and avoid any area where soldiers are in operation. “The idea that some people come to watch our people during an operation is not always the best. What we are doing is not like film show. People should avoid such places whenever we are in operation,” he said.
Residents of the area who spoke with LEADERSHIP said that, had it been the attack was carried out in the day time, a lot of lives would have been lost in the gun battle. They thanked the task force for its efforts towards improving security in the state.
SOURCE: Leadership Newspaper, 22 March 2012. http://www.leadership.ng/nga/
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