Gunmen attack Yobe prison, injure policemen, civilians

By The Guardian Newspaper

ALTHOUGH the military Joint Task Force (JTF) is up and doing in the seven troubled wards of Damaturu metropolis in Yobe State, gunmen have struck again.

They attacked the Satellite Prison in the area with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and petrol-bombs and wounded four policemen guarding the building, as well as two residents.

Eyewitnesses said there was a two-hour gun duel between the gunmen and men of the JTF.

During the shoot-out on Wednesday, the Ajari ward was cordoned off to prevent civilians from being killed.

Shops and banks on the Gashua Road were quickly shut while pedestrians and motorists scampered for safety. The JTF opened the roads in the area at 4 p.m.

The attack on the prison, according to the JTF, is the third of such invasion by suspected gunmen, freeing an undisclosed number of inmates.

A resident said: “The police were ambushed on their way from Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu, where they took the body of a man killed by gunmen on Tuesday night. The gunmen appeared suddenly and opened fire on the police, throwing IEDs but they were repelled after reinforcement from the police headquarters and military personnel from the JTF.”

The state Police Commissioner, Patrick Egbuniwe, said “an attack was carried out by suspected Boko Haram members on our men at the prison yard. They were throwing cans of bombs and shooting, but the attack was repelled by the police and the JTF. A few of our men and officers sustained injuries.”

He told The Guardian that three suspects had been arrested.

The JTF in a statement called on residents of Damaturu not to panic or flee because of Wednesday’s attack on security operatives in the state capital.

It urged the residents to go about their normal activities as it had repelled the attacks, adding that normalcy had been restored in the area. The task force asked members of the public to assist it with information on how to improve security situation through the under-listed dedicated lines 08076591981, 08076591976, 08076591986 and 08075090119.