Unknown Gunmen, raids Kogi police station, kill two officers and one civilian

Unknown Gunmen, raids Kogi police station, kill two officers and one civilian

Gunmen have killed at least two police officers and a civilian in a raid on a police station in Kogi State, central Nigeria, BBC reports

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According to witnesses, the gunmen, numbering about five, were reported to have rode on motor bikes into the police station at about 2:00 a.m on Tuesday and started firing sporadically into the air to scare off the residents around the police station.

Reports say the gunmen were armed with AK-47 rifles, initially opening fire to scare people away before they moved straight into the station and killed the two policemen on duty, along with a suspect in a cell.

It is not clear why they attacked the police station but they allegedly made away with at least one police rifle and then ransacked the station for more guns and ammunition.

Kogi state police spokesman Willy Aya stated that they already opened an investigation into the attack.

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He could not say if the attackers were just armed bandits or members of any militant group.

Suspected Boko Haram militants have previously attacked parts of Kogi state – mainly in Okene town and the capital, Lokoja. Reports indicate that the insurgents operate a militant cell in the state.

In just a similar incident in 2017, some gunmen attacked a police station at Eika community in Okehi local government area of Kogi state in the early hours of Friday, killing two policemen and a detainee.

The heavily armed hoodlums, after killing the police officers on duty were reported to have set the station ablaze and proceeded to the house of one Sadiq Obomi, chairman, Eika community development association, and killed him.

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However, a resident of Eika community who is also a member of a local vigilante group, said the attackers came in two vehicles.

The resident said they started shooting into the air as they made their way to the station.