• Kill security operatives, free suspects
ABOUT 40 gunmen on Monday morning attacked the premises of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), killing some policemen on duty and escaping with about 30 suspects from cells.
The Guardian learnt that the gunmen in two groups came to the premises at about 2 a.m. shouting Allahu Akir (Allah is great). One group came from the entrance to the place and another came from the back, shooting sporadically with a view to clearing all obstacles in their way.
According to sources, the first casualty was a police corporal, the driver of the patrol van parked at the entrance to the station who was shot severally and died on the spot.
Sources added that due to the high calibre of weapons used by the assailants and the large number, some of the policemenon duty fled while others took refuge on the premises.
Still shooting sporadically, the gunmen were said to have found their way into the cells where some Boko Haram and robbery suspects were detained and opened the cells paving the way for some of the suspects to flee.
The Guardian also learnt that the SARS commander, Seidu Ibrahim, a Superintendent of Police (SP) was alerted but whenhe came to the office, the gunmen had taken over the place and he could not gain access.
When The Guardian visited the place yesterday morning, the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of FCT, Aderenle Shinaba,had ordered that the area be cordoned off and was busy inspecting the premises. He was joined by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) operation, Philemon Lehan and later the Inspector General of Police (IG) Mohammed Abubakar, at about 1.00 p.m. The police boss spent about 50 minutes assessing the situation. A squad from the anti-terrorism unit was drafted to SARS office located at old Abattoir in Garki District.
Some of the sympathisers who gathered along the busy Garki-Nyanya road where SARS office is located, said the gunmen may have laid ambush in a slum called “Bakassi” located behind the hill that envelopes SARS office before making an incursion into the place in the early hours of yesterday.
As at the time of this report, more security men had been deployed in the area.
A resident of the area who simply introduced himself as Denis,told The Guardian that the gun battle kept them awake for some time. ‘’It was like a war because almost everybody was awake but we could not come out until this morning,” he said.
The Force Headquarters, in a statement issued by the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer (DFPRO), Frank Mbah, said only two policemen were killed while 25 out of the fleeing 30 suspects were re-arrested. Mba also said that no Boko Haram suspect escaped.
Besides, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Onyeabo Azubuike Ihejirika, said that last Sunday’s suicide bombing at the St. Andrews Military Protestant Church inside the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji in Kaduna State was “preventable.”
Ihejirika, who said the attack was due to “command inadequacy” told top military and political leaders including the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Olusola Obada, GovernorsEmmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Theodore Orji (Abia), Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, Service Chiefs - Vice Admiral Dele Joseph Ezeoba (Navy) and Air Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh (Air Force) that “the event of yesterday (Sunday) is certainly a very sad one. A Board of Inquiry (BOI) isalready instituted to unravel what happened, which we believe could have been prevented.”
Ihejirika also said that to tackle the violence in the country, the Nigerian Army Training Centre in Kontagora had been expanded to incorporate advanced recruitment training and Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency (CTCOIN) training inaddition to conventional warfare training directorates. Also, CTCOIN has been made mandatory for all new recruits and newly commissioned Nigerian Army officers. Altogether, he said that a total of 278 officers and 1,952 soldiers of the Army had received CTCOIN training.
The Army chief also readjusted the Areas of Responsibility (AOR) for the 81 and 2 Divisions as regards Lagos and Ogun States.
Under the new arrangement, Ogun State, which hitherto was under 2 Division is now under the 81 Division which has its headquarters in Lagos. The Brigade in Abeokuta becomes the 35 Artillery Brigade under 81 Division. A new brigade, 32 Artillery Brigade has also been established in Akure under 2 Division.
Also, President Goodluck Jonathan, who declared the conference open, gave a fresh directive to the Nigerian Army to lead the other defence and security agencies in developing strategies that will address the current security challenges facing the country.
A religious group, Rahmat Islamiyya Association of Nigeria (RIAN), condemned the bombing of the military church in Jaji, that claimed 11 innocent lives.
In a statement, the National Chairman, RIAN, Abdullahi Awelenja, condemned the bombing of churches and other places of worship.
On its part, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) described the suicide bomb attack at the military church as due to intelligence failure on the part of the military.
The ACF National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Anthony Sani, who spoke in an interview in Kaduna Monday on the level of insurgency, which has heightened since the Federal Government placed ransom on the leaders of Boko Haram saidthere was need for government and the insurgents to end hostility.


Source:: www.ngrguardiannews.com

*sighs*

As usual a comittee will be set up to look into the incident and the FG will work on the resolutions of the committee.

I hope GEJ knows that this menace are getting out of hand,about time he implemented OBJ's strategy.