Nigerian Islamist kill 7 in police station, bank raid

By Aminu Abubakar (AFP) – 1 hour ago

KANO, Nigeria — Suspected members of the radical Boko Haram Islamist sect on Monday staged simultaneous bomb and gun attacks on a police station and a bank killing seven people, witnesses and local journalists said.

The dead included five policemen, witnesses said, in an attack coming just four days after the sect bombed the country's police headquarters in the capital Abuja killing at least two.

A gang of 10 gunmen launched the two attacks on a police station and a bank in Kankara town, 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of the northern city of Katsina.

"The attackers were 10 in all, divided themselves in two groups and attacked the bank and the police station at the same time with guns and bombs," Kankara resident Salmanu Jabir said.

"One group attacked the divisional police station, killing three policemen , and setting free suspects from cells before bombing the police station," another Kankara resident Danjuma Nakande told AFP on the phone from the town.

He said the attackers fled carrying guns and ammunition, suspected to have been seized from the police station.

"While the attack on the police station was on, another group was robbing the bank," Nakande said.

The group used a bomb to destroy an electronic door of a bank situated along the same road as the police station and made off with cash. They shot dead two policemen and a bank security guard during the robbery, said another resident, Salmanu Male.

A local reporter who was in the town said he counted six bodies including five policemen and a security guard attached to the robbed bank.

"The police station has been reduced to rubble from the bombing and three bodies of uniformed policemen lay among the debris," said the reporter.

Another person died in hospital after he was shot by the fleeing gunmen when he attempted to pick up some of the stolen cash falling out of one of their bags, resident Jabir said.

Police were not immediately available to comment. Repeated calls put through to the police commissioner and his spokesman in the state went unanswered.

Male said the attackers carrying AK-47 rifles wore beards and were clad in long robes and "chanted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) throughout the operation, suggesting they are Boko Haram".

This would be the first attack Boko Haram staged in Katsina state, suggesting that the sect was carrying out its threat of widening its attacks to other parts of the north.

It has since last year waged a low-level insurgency focusing mainly on the northeastern Maiduguri city, although it has also been active in northern Bauchi city.

An attack which police said was carried out by a suicide bomber shook the core of Nigerian security services last Thursday hitting the national police headquarters. At least two people - a policemen and the suspected bomber - were killed in the attack.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sin", launched in 2009 an uprising which was put down by a brutal military assault that left hundreds dead, mostly sect members.

It has pushed for the creation of an Islamic state and been blamed for the shootings of police and community leaders, bomb blasts and raids on churches, police stations and a prison.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
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its like this boko haram are going all wild

They are spreading throughout the North. I thought they were simply of Kanuri stock, but it looks like they are recruiting Hausa-Fulani.

If this was happening in any other part of the country, the soldier boys would have ravaged the whole place. So far GEJ has failed with security issues

High_Chief:

If this was happening in any other part of the country, the soldier boys would have ravaged the whole place. So far GEJ has failed with security issues

That is true. Look at how they torched the Niger Delta to go after the militants.

Villages were destroyed, women despoiled, young men murdered in cold blood.

Now, this is not funny again, they are increasing and recruiting more poor youth, YOU SEE WHAT POLITICIANS have caused this country?

Angry, hungry bitter youth running rampage?

honeric01:

Now, this is not funny again, they are increasing and recruiting more poor youth, YOU SEE WHAT POLITICIANS have caused this country?

Angry, hungry bitter youth running rampage?

That should not be an excuse. There are hungry poor youth and other sections of the country who do not believe in such destruction.

EzeUche!:

That should not be an excuse. There are hungry poor youth and other sections of the country who do not believe in such destruction.

Sit down there and be saying which is an excuse and which is not an excuse while they continue bombarding our barracks, mosques, churches, banks e.t.c with bombs and AK-47s.

Until you show me one well to do boko haram member, then would i remove the "angry hungry" part from my posts.

^^^Yes the members that carry out the operations could be "hungry" hence angry, but are they the only poor people in the country. There are other poor people in other parts of the country, infact a huge number of them, so how come they have not taken to violence? So poverty is not an excuse, cos if thats the case I will say that the people of Niger Delta have more reasons to fight for their cause.

High_Chief:

If this was happening in any other part of the country, the soldier boys would have ravaged the whole place. So far GEJ has failed with security issues

That was if this was happening in a place where the puppeteer corporations that run Nigeria made a profit and the actions of Boko Haram were affecting this their profit.

High_Chief:

^^^Yes the members that carry out the operations could be "hungry" hence angry, but are they the only poor people in the country. There are other poor people in other parts of the country, infact a huge number of them, so how come they have not taken to violence? So poverty is not an excuse, cos if thats the case I will say that the people of Niger Delta have more reasons to fight for their cause.

MEND

Because others apart from Bokoharam and MEND are not fighting means Mend and Bokoharam can't fight for whatever twisted reasons they have?

I saw again, just worry yourself about what they're causing to the nation and how to DEAL with them.

this is the result of having a weak leader and minority in govt.I think those that argued that our politics is not matured to produce a president from the minority stock could afterall be right!GEJ is clearly an orphan,the niger-delta got a dose of what they gave northern presidents and suddenly it dawned on them,that wen it comes to rough tactics,number is essential!When militants were slaughtering nigerian soldiers of northern extractn in the niger-delta,they were feeling cool,now the chicken has come home to roost and niger-delta no get mouth.GEJ needs a well respected, politically strong southern tribe with religious/cultural affinity to the north to reach them ,As far as the elite of these two blocs are concerned,GEJ is an outsider!he must set up such strong committee to buy time for him to win their trust and confidence,then like marchavelli crush any of the reasons responsible for this onslaught,unfortunate,he cant win because the nigerian state lacks the capacity to take on serious internal threat like this,the campaign has its root in ignorance,unemployment and religious-political machinations cum struggle for resources and power.these will not be won by bullets!

Those trying to claim there was no action against this group are being economical with the truth.The way Yar'Adua's government massacred these people was uncalled for and I expected an escalation of violence.There leader was killed without judgement.

If history is anything to go by,we can as well conclude that religion is a virus that eats deep into the brain.Christians experienced persecution during their early days until Constantine was converted and he legalised Christianity.Mohammed had to flee from Arabia and had to fight for survival.

Every sane human should but see religion as just a sunday or friday tonic and nothing more because it is built on brain-wash and deceit.The other option is to ban Christianity,Islam and all foreign religions imposed on we Africans by the Whitemen and Arabs.

spotless!

Abagworo:

Those trying to claim there was no action against this group are being economical with the truth.The way Yar'Adua's government massacred these people was uncalled for and I expected an escalation of violence.There leader was killed without judgement.

If history is anything to go by,we can as well conclude that religion is a virus that eats deep into the brain.Christians experienced persecution during their early days until Constantine was converted and he legalised Christianity.Mohammed had to flee from Arabia and had to fight for survival.

Every sane human should but see religion as just a sunday or friday tonic and nothing more because it is built on brain-wash and deceit.The other option is to ban Christianity,Islam and all foreign religions imposed on we Africans by the Whitemen and Arabs.

I was just tnkng, has bokoharam claimd respnsbilty fo dis katsina atack? Until dey do so, we suld also realise dat nigerians do make use of opotunitie. Ts nt all robery nd atack on police stations dat wil be by bokoharam!