Gunmen attack Kogi police station, kill officer

Gunmen early Friday attacked a Police Area Command office at Eika-Ohizenyi in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State, killing an officer Mr Jibril popularly known as Yellow.

The Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Police Command, Edward Egbuka, who visited the scene of the attack for an on-the-spot assessment, immediately ordered the deployment of additional operational assets consisting of operatives of the Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit, Quick Response Unit, State Intelligence Bureau in synergy with other security agencies to restore normalcy to the area.

The visit was contained in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, William Aya, in Lokoja on Friday.

The statement mentioned that part of the Area Command Office was razed by dynamite used by the attackers and Jibril, a Police Inspector, died in the exchange of fire with the hoodlums.

The Commissioner of Police, however, assured that the Command is committed to working in synergy with other security agencies as well as patriotic stakeholders to make the State safe and secure.

Call For Help

A resident of the area, Mallam Momoh Abubakar, told Channels Television that the attackers invaded the station at 12:15 a.m., saying the first bomb they threw into the station made a heavy sound that woke many residents.

According to him, the second bomb brought down part of the station’s building. He added that the attackers had a field day as they operated for over two hours without interference either from security agents or the community.

Abubakar explained the only operational vehicle in the police station was also destroyed. The resident also said during the attack, bullets perforated the windows of the Eika Community Central Mosque and a Catholic church near the police station.

“I am using this medium to appeal to security agents to be proactive and respond quickly to this type of incident because the gunmen spent more than two hours operating freely without interference.

“The first attack on the station occurred on Friday and this second one, which happened after five years also took place on Friday, and to our surprise, nobody has been arrested in connection to the attack.

“As I am talking to you now, there is serious fear and apprehension in Eika community as people remained indoors for fear of being attacked by gunmen. We are appealing to the government to beam its searchlight on this area because the attack is becoming unbearable,” he said

Meanwhile, the corpse of the slain policeman has been taken to the Obangede General Hospital mortuary.

The police station was first attacked in February 2017, leading to the death of two officers attached to the station. The Eika community leader Mallam Sadiq Orbom was also killed by the assailant in his house after they successfully ravaged the police station. (Text, excluding headline: Channels TV)