Blood flowed in Daura, Katsina State, hometown of former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari Thursday night, when about 11 persons, including soldiers and policemen, were killed, in an exchange of gunfire among gunmen, suspected to be members of Boko Haram, police and soldiers.
Saturday Sun gathered that the gunmen had attacked four commercial banks and two police stations in the operations that started around 9p.m. before security operatives engaged them in firefight.
An eyewitness revealed that the gunmen, who stormed Daura in six vehicles, including three Toyota Hellux vans, also attacked the base of the soldiers stationed in Daura Local Government Secretariat, where they reportedly killed three of the soldiers on duty.
From there, the gunmen stormed the nearby Daura Central Police Station, which was bombed, before attacking the four commercial banks in the town.
Investigations revealed that the banks’ doors and vaults were forced open with bombs and a yet-to-be estimated amount of money was looted.
Sources further revealed that two policemen were killed by the bandits at Sabon Gari Police Station in Daura during the attack.
The state Commissioner of Police, Abdullahi Magaji, who confirmed in Daura that the police also killed four of the bandits, in another exchange of fire outside Daura, however, said he was yet to be briefed on the soldiers and police casualties.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army headquarters yesterday, confirmed that seven people were killed in the shootout between Boko Haram insurgents and security operatives.
Chief of Civil Military Relations, Major General Mobolaji Koleoso, while briefing the press in Abuja, said that the Army was worried that the insurgents had resorted to wearing camouflages that resembled those of the Army, to deceive the public and carryout their attacks with ease.
Koleoso told journalists that at about 10 pm on Thursday, a distressed calls were put up to the 35 Battalion, Katsina State, by people at Daura. He said that the battalion mobilised troops on offensive against the insurgents, revealing that during the shootout two soldiers and two Boko Haram insurgents were killed on the spot. E also said that three Boko Haram members, who fled with gunshot injuries, died in an auto crash on the road.
General Koleoso disclosed that two rifles with large quantity of ammunition were among items recovered from the insurgents. He pointed out that the Boko Haram insurgents were dressed in fake camouflage that resembled those used by the military.
The General noted that this was the case in Bama attack, as he displayed photographs of insurgents killed in fake camouflage. He said that both normal Army camouflage, which was super-imposed with dark green and the desert camouflage that had much of lemon green colour, was distinct from the two fake camouflage used by the Boko Haram, which had much of brown super-imposed in them.
Koleoso warned the public not to trust anybody in camouflage, but to look again, as all those in camouflage did not belong to the Army.
In a related development, the army authority has called on people of Daura community to push out or report people with gun injuries.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Garba A. Wahab, made the appeal in Kaduna yesterday, saying that if the people of Daura refused to report anybody with gun injuries to the Army, such insurgents will come back to attack them in the future.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, Wahab disclosed that the criminals, during the attack, bombed three police stations and robbed four banks in Daura town, adding that some of them were killed in the gun with men under his division.
According to the GOC, “I called this press conference to fill the gap on the attack that occurred and is still taking place in Daura, Katsina State. We had an incident from 10pm on Thursday evening when criminals attacked three police stations and four banks in Daura town. At the end of the operation, even though it is still on, I have lost three of my men, two, including an officer, are wounded. I am not bothered about the casualties of the criminals, but we have been able to recover four AK47 rifles from them.
“Another group of the criminals had a road traffic accident, which three of them died; they engaged the police and the civil defence in that town and one of the vehicles they were travelling with was seen with a huge amount of money, which I have instructed my boys to give to the police to count and safe-keep, to be given back to the bank because that’s not my job, but the guns recovered in that vehicle by troops are in the custody of the division.
“We cannot fold our arms and watch criminals bomb and burn police stations, rob banks with impunity, irrespective of the disguise within which these people are operating in Nigeria and the president has given us the directive to be deployed; we are duty-bound and we will ensure that there is peace and security in the country.”
He emphasised that the army tries as much as possible to reduce collateral damage, saying: “Nobody will give an instruction for an innocent life to be lost; so in whatever we do, we keep to the rules of engagement given to us and that is why I have called the media to lend us their support because when a few reports go out, it’s like it is encouraging the criminals and they start to think they have the upper hand.”
Meanwhile, the Brigade Commander, 3rd Brigade of the Nigeria Army, Bukavu, Brigadier Illysu Abbah, who briefed the media on the incident in Kano, confirmed that three of his soldiers lost their lives in the attack.
According to the Brigade Commander, items recovered from the insurgents included 11 AK47 rifles, 73 magazines, 275 rounds of 7.62 ammunition, 118 rounds of FNW ammunition, 141 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, one smoke gun, two vehicles and various improvised devices.
“The Brigade would like to also advise financial institutions with outstations outside of the state capitals to always leave minimal unattractive cash in their vaults at the end of a business day as terrorists are in need of cash,” he stressed.
“The Brigade would like to reassure the general public of the determination of the unit and other security agencies to protect the lives and property of the law abiding citizens,” he added.
SUN
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