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Suspected members of the Boko Haram on Wednesday night unleashed terror on a police outpost in Mainok town in Kaga local government area of Borno State. Four policemen were killed, while the said police outpost as well as the rescue unit of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) was completely ravaged.
Witnesses said the incident occurred at about 10pm when gunmen numbering about 20 invaded the area and started firing at the police station and throwing several explosives into the building, which razed it down.
Investigations further revealed that the residents had gone to bed but were suddenly woken up by the endless sounds of heavy gunfire, heard throughout the town.
“The gunmen had stormed the area, throwing explosives in the station and firing sporadic shots that resulted in the deaths of four policemen, before freeing some suspected criminals who were detained in the cell,” Bunu Modu, a resident, said.
“We started hearing gunshots all of a sudden and then the bomb explosion at the police station. Everybody was confused and started running helter-skelter as they started shooting in the air in the town,” Bunu added.
He reiterated that the gunmen burnt down the police station and set all the inmates free. They also took away large quantities of arms and ammunition.
Another witness who spoke on condition of anonymity explained that, after destroying the police outpost, the gunmen proceeded to the nearby FRSC rescue unit, fired several shots before detonating heavy explosives.
“Immediately after destroying the police station, the gunmen headed to the FRSC, shooting sporadically at the office before bombing it. I don’t know if there was any causality, but I believe several vehicles parked in the premises were burnt down,” the witness added.
The police commissioner, Borno State command, Mr. Simoen Midenda, confirmed that there were attacks by gunmen but denied some policemen were killed. “No, not a single officer was killed in the attack. In fact, there was no casualty because that particular outpost was shut down for a long time and all the officers were redeployed to Maiduguri.”
For his part, the Borno FRSC sector commander, Mr. James Christopher, confirmed that the Mainok unit office was destroyed by the gunmen, while a patrol vehicle belonging to the agency was also burnt.
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