Gunmen kill 10, sack 6 villages in Plateau

THE raging hostility in the northern part of Plateau State between the Berom natives and the Fulani herdsmen took a frightening dimension on Monday with the killing of another 10 people, while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries in Riyom Local Government Area of the state. This is even as a member of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Daniel Dem, representing the affected constituency, disclosed that no fewer than 30 people had been killed by the rampaging Fulani in the past one month.

 A source close to Riyom Local Government told Nigerian Tribune that a group of people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, armed with sophisticated weapon, numbering about 40 stormed the hinterland of the council on Monday at about 5.30 p.m. in a guerrilla-like operation. It was learnt that the suspected Fulani herdsmen ransacked six villages, set houses ablaze at random and randomly opened fire during the operation which lasted for close to three hours before the arrival of men of the Special Task Force.

 Nigerian Tribune gathered from the local government authorities, that as of Tuesday morning, no fewer than 10 corpses of those gunned down while trying to escape were picked in different parts of the affected villages, most especially in the bush. The villages sacked by the marauders in the local government are Tahol, Kasual, Bangai, Sopp, Angwan Were and Tanyol, while the survivors of the raids are now taking refuge at a primary school at the council’s headquarters. 

Those who sustained injuries are, however, receiving treatment in various health centres within the locality. Honourable Daniel Dem , who represents the area in the House of Assembly, confirmed the incident, saying one of the reasons why state of emergency was declared in four local government areas of the state was to halt senseless killings of the people by the rampaging Fulani herdsmen in the local government, adding that the step taken by the Federal Government was yet to yield positive result.

 He called on the Federal Government to review the state of emergency declared in the four local government areas of the state, adding that the people of the affected areas were yet to feel the impact of the emergency rule in terms of protection of life and property. “What is the benefit of the emergency rule, when the affected areas are on siege and constant attack without any effort to ameliorate the situation? The attack is now more rampant than before when there was no emergency in place.

 In the past one month no fewer than 30 people had been killed by these people. Is the emergency a blessing or a curse?” he asked. The information officer of the Special Task Force, Captain Mdahyelya Markus who confirmed the attack, did not mention the number of causality but, however, declared that the command had sent reinforcement of STF men to all the affected villages.

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Gunmen kill police inspector, ex-custom officer in Maiduguri

Unknown gunmen on Tuesday shot dead a police inspector shortly after the early morning prayers near his residence in Gwange, Maiduguri. Some witnesses told newsmen that the police inspector popularly called Baba Ataka was shot as he came out of the mosque after congregational prayers. “The killers positioned themselves at strategic position and shot him immediately he stepped out of the mosque.

 The shooting created panic among the people as the killers disappeared without trace,” Malam Nuhu Ibrahim, an eyewitness said. He also said that the victim died almost immediately as he was shot at close range. 

 Also killed in a related incident was a retired customs officer, who was shot dead around noon by gunmen in Simari. Relatives of the murdered ex-customs officer told newsmen that he was trailed by the killers from his main house in Ruwan Zafi before he was shot in Simari.

 “Two teenagers believed to have trailed him from Ruwan Zafi walked to the borehole house and met the deceased while inspecting the facility. “They wasted no time in shooting him before fleeing with his salon car,” Malam Idris Shuwa, a relative, said. Shuwa added that the remains of the deceased were buried according to Islamic rights in Gwange.

 Alhaji Bala Hassan, the Commissioner of Police in Borno, who confirmed the killing of the police inspector, described it as sad. Hassan, however, declined to comment on the killing of the ex-customs officer, saying that he had yet to be briefed.

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Gunmen kill schoolboy in presence of mum in Kaduna

Barely three days after the Easter Sunday bomb explosion that claimed scores of innocent lives in Kaduna and 24 hours after the Chief Army Staff declared war against terrorists, unknown gunmen yesterday stormed Rigasa, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis, killing a schoolboy in the presence of his mum. 

 The victim identified as Mohammed Sani Adamu according to Daily Sun investigation was a final year student of Imam Secondary School, Makarfi Road. Daily Sun gathered that, his killers mistook Adamu who was on his Man’O War uniform for a soldier. Elder brother of the deceased, Alhaji Mohammed Maikudi who confirmed the incident to Daily Sun said the gunmen shot Adamu twice in the presence of their mother who had sent him on errand

. According to Maikudi: “My brother was shot twice in the presence of my helpless mother. The gunmen thought my brother was a soldier probably because he was in his man-O war uniform.“He came back home in his Man’O War uniform and his mother sent him on errand to buy something for her in the market. Immediately he steps out of the house, the gunmen approached him in front of the house and shot him twice,” he stated.  

He said the attackers who rode on a motorbike were three young boys of about 22 years of age, adding: “when they shot him, the mother came out shouting; ‘My Son is a Cadet Man’O War not a soldier. “On hearing the cry of my mother, the attackers zoomed off on the same bike. I cannot really identify them, but they are small boys. I believe it is because of the uniform they shot him, they thought he was a soldier,” said Maikudi.

 The elder brother also told Daily Sun that Adamu was a final year student of Imam Secondary School, Makarfi Road, Rigasa who was on the verge of completing his final exams. The Police Command’s Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Aminu Lawan confirmed the incident, saying, investigation has commenced into the killing with a view to bringing the killers to book.

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Armed robbery suspects attack prosecutor in court, escape in his car

Five of seven armed robbery suspects on Tuesday escaped from a Magistrates’ Court in Minna while waiting for the arrival of the magistrate for the court to begin business, witnesses said. 

 Witnesses said the suspects escaped in a Honda Accord car, belonging to Mr Tanimu Bako, the prosecutor after using dangerous weapons, such as cutlasses and sickle, found in the courtroom to batter the prosecutor to a state of unconsciousness. 

 A worker at the court told newsmen that the suspects whispered to themselves before arming themselves with the exhibits in the courtroom and used them to scare court workers before attacking the prosecutor. The worker said the prosecutor had tried to lock the door of the courtroom when he was attacked, adding that he was taken to Minna General Hospital immediately as he was bleeding heavily. 

 The Magistrate, Hajiya Amina Musa, confirmed the incident to NAN and said, “thank God that I had not arrived, only God knows what they could have done to me.” Musa said the two remaining suspects had been handed over to the police and stressed that the prison officials brought the suspects in their custody to court without adequate security arrangements at the court. 

 “There was no police or warder at the court when it happened,” she said. She said that the police later recovered Bako’s car without the suspects at Maurice area of Minna, where they hit another car while trying to escape from the police, who were chasing them. Also confirming the incident, the Police Public Relation Officer in Niger, Mr Richard Oguche said “we were in a meeting this morning with our commissioner when the news filtered in.

 “We have written to the prison authority to explain why it should bring armed robbery suspects to court without adequate security arrangement. “It is their responsibility to take care of suspects in their custody until they are granted bail by the court or served out their jail term,” Oguche said. He said that the police were making efforts to re-arrest the fleeing suspects.

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More deaths on Black Easter: 6 die in fresh attack; bank and hotel also touched

Six persons including a Police Inspector and a former council chairman were killed yesterday in a clash between gunmen and members of the Joint Task Force, JTF, in Dikwa council area of Borno State. This came as commercial motorcycle riders claimed to have lost over 100 of their members in Sunday’s bomb blast in Kaduna as more of the bomb victims recounted their experiences. 

 The gunmen in Borno, numbering about 30 were said to have carried out a bomb attack on a police station in the council area and killed a police Inspector as well as the former chairman of Dikwa Local Government Council, Alhaji Babagana Ali Karim.

 The gunmen also set the Unity Bank branch and Freedom Hotel on fire and also attempted to torch the council secretariat. JTF members, however, engaged them in a shoot out and succeeded in killing three of them. Briefing newsmen yesterday, the Borno State Police Commissioner, Mr. Bala Hassan said that the Dikwa attack was repelled by security agents as they were able to over power the attackers by killing three of them, while several others escaped into the bush with bullet wounds.

 Hassan while displaying the arms and ammunition that were recovered from the gunmen noted that during the clash with the security agents, the gunmen abandoned their Hilux Pick-Up vehicle which they used in the attack. He said when the security agents searched the vehicle, they discovered that the vehicle was loaded with arms and ammunition; Police uniforms, crash helmets, metal detectors among others which were believed to have been stolen after an attack on a police station. 

 The Police Commissioner then appealed to the general public to cooperate with the security agencies in providing information to the command, adding that N500,000 reward will be given to any one who provides information that would assist in arresting the criminals, while N1 million will equally be given to anyone that provides information on the modus operandi of the gunmen. He said that all information given will be treated with utmost confidentiality.

 Confirming the incident, the JTF Spokesman, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said that at about 1:35am to 2:45am on Monday, suspected members of the Boko Haram sect attacked and burnt Dikwa Police Station, Unity Bank, Freedom Hotel and attempted to burn Dikwa Council Secretariat. He said,the JTF forward operating bases in Dikwa and Gamboru 202 Battalion troops and Nigeria Police Force jointly engaged the gunmen.

 He said it was reported later that the former Chairman of the council, Babagana Ali, a police officer and a civilian were killed by the attackers. He added that three of the gunmen were killed and many items were recovered which include oneunregistered Isuzu pick up, milk colour, one AK47 rifle, one double barrel gun, a box loaded with assorted ammunition, 19 empty magazine, one bullet proof jacket, some crash helmets and a DVD player. 

 Bomb defused in Kano The Joint Military Taskforce, JTF, yesterday afternoon in Kano defused a high caliber Improvised Explosive Device (IED) primed in an abandoned vehicle along the strategic eastern bypass close to a military check point. Military spokesman, Lt Ikediche Iweha told Vanguard in a telephone interview that the exercise was successful; stressing that “there was no casualties while the process lasted.”

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Gunmen kill 9 in Maiduguri •As JTF kills 3 in Kano

NO fewer than nine people were said to have been killed at separate locations when gunmen opened fire at the Maiduguri Monday Market at about 2.00 p.m on Wednesday, leaving several injured, eyewitnesses told the Nigerian Tribune in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. 

 Nigerian Tribune also gathered that one Tajudeen, a mechanic on the Lagos Street in the capital, was shot dead on Wednesday afternoon by unknown gunmen. According to an eyewitness, they were coming from the University of Maiduguri when they saw soldiers asking people to go back, as the Lagos Street was temporarily closed while gunshots were heard, which indicate a trouble on the highway. “We made a U-turn, followed through Gwange and by the time we were close to the market, we saw people running and asking us to turn back that gunmen had taken over the market. 

 “We quickly turned and went back, then we get out through the river behind former deputy governor’s house before we could get to G.R.A,” Nur Bakura told Nigerian Tribune. One of the drivers at the Government House, who preferred anonymity, said he was just coming from the market area, adding that “I had to abandon the vehicle and took to my heels. The gunshot was like no other. I did not see them but it was as if the gunshot was right behind me.

 “When I came out of the market, I could not go to where I parked the car again. I ran to a nearby shop where we lock ourselves until we realised that the military had come and taken control of the situation. We were told that eight people were hit by bullets and they died.” A source at the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, told the Nigerian Tribune that they had taken two corpses to the hospital – a male and a female – who were hit by bullets during the killing. 

 The spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the state, Lieutenant-Colonel Shamsu Musa, while confirming the incident, however, told the Nigerian Tribune that on getting to the scene of the incident, there were sporadic shootings by unknown gunmen, which lasted for three minutes, leading to the death of one person. “Patrol has been intensified and normalcy has since been restored.

 Effort is on to arrest the gunmen. But so far, no arrest has been made,” Musa told the Nigerian Tribune. In another development, the JTF, in Kano, on Tuesday, while engaging a group of terrorists in a cross fire, killed three gunmen who had earlier snatched a Honda car from the owner, just as Major-General Garba Ayodeji Wahab, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) One Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, disclosed that the gunmen were planning another devastating attack on Kano this week. 

 Speaking with pressmen at the 3rd Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Bukavo Kano, Wahab said the army was not out to harass or intimidate innocent people of Kano. While addressing journalists on the attack by the gunmen on the soldiers, the JTF spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Ikedichi Iweha, said after the hoodlums had hijacked the Honda car from the owner at a gun point, the owner decided to alert the JTF men at checkpoint.

 Following the information, the men of the JTF, according to him, were at alert, as they returned the fire when the gunmen arrived at the checkpoint. Lieutenant-Colonel Iweha said as a result of the crossfire between the terrorists and the soldiers, the three hoodlums fell to the superior firepower of the JTF and they were all dead.

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Nigerian Suspected Militants Kill Police Inspector in North

Suspected Islamist militants in Nigeria shot dead a police inspector at a market in the northeastern state of Borno, a police official said.

Ali Adamu was killed while shopping in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, yesterday afternoon, police spokesman Samuel Tizhe said in a phone interview.

Maiduguri has been the center of a violent campaign by the Islamist Boko Haram sect to impose Shariah law in Africa’s top oil producer. The government blames Boko Haram, which draws inspiration from Afghanistan’s Taliban movement, for a surge of violence in the mainly Muslim north and in Abuja, the capital, since 2009.

Police in Borno offered a 1 million naira ($6,341) reward for any information leading to the recovery of weapons and ammunition and the subsequent arrest of any of the militants, Bala Hassan, the state’s chief of police, said yesterday in a phone interview.

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Cleric, 2 others shot dead by gunmen in Borno

Three persons including a cleric and a cobbler were on Thursday night shot dead by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect in Maiduguri, Borno State.

It was also learnt that a suspected member of the sect was killed by the men of the Joint Task Force, JTF, during a shootout in the Maiduguri metropolis.

Also a multiple auto crash involving some vehicles, killed one of the drivers injured 22 other people at Tamsukau village of the state along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road, on Thursday.

It was gathered that some Boko Haram men had attacked the JTF troops around Gwange within the metropolis few minutes to the commencement of the 7pm curfew on Thursday night and subsequently met their waterloo as the military were prepared for them. `“Some men in a car had attacked the JTF soldiers around the Gwange Four Primary School, just a few metres away from the Health Centre.

But the soldiers fired back at them, killing one of them while the others fled. The soldiers later searched the car and this morning, the JTF came with some anti-bomb people to detonate the bomb,” a resident around the area, who preferred anonymity told journalists yesterday.

Moments after the gun battle in Gwange ward, another set of gun men hacked down an Islamic scholar, one Mohammed Alhaji Bukar and a cobbler. Sources revealed that those killed were suspected by to be informants of the Department of Security Services, DSS.

Police Public Realtions Officer, PPRO, Samuel Tizhe, an assistant superintendent confirmed the killings of the Islamic cleric and the cobbler. He said the police have since cordoned off the area, adding that “investigation into the killings have since commenced.”

He said, “It is true the two persons were killed last night by suspected Boko Haram members. One is a cobbler while the second is an Islamic scholar. We have commenced investigations into the killings and we call on good spirited individuals to avail us with useful information to track down the sect members.”

In another development a deafening sound from an explosion was heard in the city at about 7.15am yesterday. Sources said the explosive went off around Gwange 4 Primary School, same area where the JTF engaged the sect in a gun battle earlier on Thursday.

When contacted, the JTF spokesman, Lt Colonel Hassan Mohammed said he could no longer speak for the JTF, pointing out that he had been transferred out of the state.

Another JTF source however confirmed that there was no casualty from the explosion. “We discovered an Improvised Explosive Device, IED, planted by suspected Boko Haram sect near a primary school but it was successful detonated by the JTF this morning (yesterday),” the officer who preferred anonymity said. He also confirmed the killing of a Boko Haram suspect by the task force.

Meanwhile, three vehicles were involved in a multiple crash yesterday. Leading to the death of their drivers and the injuring of passengers.

One of the vehicles with registration number YB 35A02 belonged to the Yobe State government.

It reportedly collided with a Toyota commercial bus with Yobe State registration, XA 715 FUN., and a Volkswagen Golf commercial vehicle with Katsina registration number AE 884 DTM

The Borno State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC,, John James confirmed that the Tamsukau multiple auto crash was caused by dangerous overtaking on the highway by the commercial taxi driver who also died in the accident.

He said: “It was in the process of avoiding the taxi driver that the other two drivers of vehicles crashed into each other, while the taxi driver ended up in the ditch, two metres away from the other two vehicles.”

He said the 22 other passengers including two of the drivers and a pregnant woman,sustained serious injuries on their limbs and heads, while attempting to escape from the crashed bus heading to Maiduguri at 4.35pm.

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Gunmen kidnap senator’s wife in Rivers

Wife of Senator George Seiko, representing Rivers Senatorial District, Princess Seiko, has been kidnapped in the outskirts of Port Harcourt.

Mrs. Seiko was abducted by gunmen on new Airport Road by Oberg Ikwerre Complex on the East-West Road axis.

The incident occurred just as the lifeless body of a man identified simply as George was found at Kalioama community in Okrika area of the State.

The senator’s wife was said to have been abducted at 8.40 pm while driving her car.

It was not clear whether she had a companion in the vehicle at the time of the attack.

Also, the whereabouts of both the victim and her captors remained unknown as at press time.

In another development, a middle-aged man was killed at Kalioama, an Okrika community.

Village sources suspected that the deceased, identified as George, may have been strangulated.

Efforts to get the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Benjamin Ugwuegbulam (DSP), to comment on the incidents were unsuccessful.

However, it was gathered that the police have launched a manhunt for the hoodlums.

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4 killed in shooting at French Jewish school

A gunman opened fire on a Jewish school in southern France Monday, killing four people -- the third shooting of ethnic minority people in the region in the past 10 days.

The gunman pulled up in front of Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse just before 8 a.m. and started shooting, authorities said.

The victims included a teacher at the school and his two children. A 3-year-old child was also among the dead, and a 17-year-old was wounded, local prosecutor Michael Valet said.

The gunman got close enough to his victims to shoot them in the head, local journalist Gil Bousquet said.

Families hugged and wept in front of police cars around the school in the aftermath of the shooting, pictures from the scene showed.

Ambulances and police vans lined the narrow streets of the city, and a helicopter circled overhead as police on foot made their way through the small crowd of shocked locals to get to the building.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy flew to the school, where he declared that "everything must be done so the killer is arrested."

"And of course our thoughts are with these families that are shattered -- a mother who has lost her husband and her two children the same day, the director of the school saw a little girl die before his eyes," Sarkozy said in a somber appearance at the entrance to the school.

He called for a minute's silence in schools across the country in response to the "national tragedy."

The gunman wore a motorcycle helmet and fled on a motor scooter after the shootings, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said -- the same method used in the shootings of soldiers on March 11 and 15.

Those soldiers were all of North African origin, Brandet said.

"It's a horrible tragedy," Brandet said of Monday's shootings.

"Even if it's too early to say whether or not they are the same weapons, there are similarities," Brandet said, citing the use of a motorcycle and the location of the killings.

Ballistics tests will help determine whether the same guns were used in all three shootings, he said, speaking on CNN affiliate BFM.

Prosecutors in Paris have opened an investigation into all three shootings under anti-terrorism powers.

The interior ministry has ordered police across the country to contact Jewish organizations to arrange increased vigilance, Brandet said.

France, which has one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe, had 389 reported acts of anti-Semitism in 2011, according to Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, known in French as CRIF.

Its head, Richard Prasquier, and Minister of Education Luc Chatel accompanied Sarkozy to Toulouse.

The news of Monday's shooting brought immediate reaction from the Jewish world.

"We follow with shock the news coming from France, and we trust the French authorities to shed full light on this crime and to bring those responsible to justice," said Yigal Palmor, the spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry.

Gilles Bernheim, the chief rabbi of France, said he was "horrified" and "upset."

Moscow Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt said on behalf of the Conference of European Rabbis that "the thoughts of Jewish communities across Europe will be with the families of the victims."

Presidential candidate Francois Hollande said he felt "horror" at the killing.

On March 11, a soldier was on his motorbike when a helmeted man on another motorcycle pulled up and shot and killed him, Toulouse police Capt. David Delattre said.

The soldier was not in uniform, and his motorbike did not have any military identification, Delattre said.

On Thursday, two other soldiers were shot dead and another injured by a black-clad man wearing a motorcycle helmet in the southwestern French city of Montauban, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Toulouse.

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Gunmen kill bank manager, and 7 others in beer parlour attack

IT was a bloody weekend in Sapele, Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State, as gunmen killed a bank manager and seven other persons at a drinking spot, opposite Okotie-Eboh Grammar School, in the town.

No reason was given for the mindless bloodbath, but a source said, “The killers, who claimed to be unemployed and hungry, were incensed that their victims were busy drinking and eating with their girlfriends, while they (killers) were starving.”

Meanwhile, another version of the incident, claimed that the husband of one of the women, who was killed was the person who hired cultists to invade the beer parlour, alleging that his wife lied to him that she was going to the saloon to make her hair, only to surface at the drinking spot with her lover.

The woman allegedly left two of her children at home and when her husband got wind of her action, he came with cultists, shot dead the wife and people in the beer parlour at the time.

But, Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Charles Muka, told Vanguard when contacted, that only five persons were confirmed dead, while two were rushed to the hospital.

He said: “They were drinking and people came and sprayed bullets on them, four died on the spot and another one died later.”

A source told Vanguard that he counted the corpses, saying “There were about 10 persons drinking in Mama Chabula shop that evening when the gunmen came. We don’t know whether they are former militants, cultists or just criminals but they opened fire, seven persons died on the spot while three were rushed to hospital.

“Of the three that were rushed to the hospital was a bank manager and he died today (Sunday). The gunmen did not rob anybody in the store, they just opened fire at those drinking and left after committing the havoc,” the source added.

A Sapele youth leader, who corroborated the police claim, said, “What I heard was that three men and two women were shot in cold blood. One was shot on his legs, the incident happened about 8 pm. We are all confused, there is tension everywhere, nobody seems to know the real reason for the massacre.”

The police do not even know because the people were drinking when they opened fire at them,” he added.

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Gunmen Kill Pastor, Village Head, 8 Others In Kaduna

Unknown gunmen numbering about 30 on Thursday night raided two communities in Kaduna State killing 10 Persons including a Pastor of the Assembly of God Church and injured five others.

newsmen gathered that the Attack on Dayi and Kakuna communities of Chikun local government area of the state.

The Villages are located within the South-East of the State and is 100 kilometres away from the state metropolis.

Eyes witness said the attackers invaded the village at about 11pm of Thursday to the early hours of Friday. They also set a church ablaze.

The eyewitness told newsmen that after setting the church ablaze, the attackers also killed the pastor of the Church, Reverend, Innocent Mari Chukwuemeka and the village head of Dayi, Dogo Sarki among 8 others in the presence of their Wives and children.

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Gunmen open fire on police station, injure two

Unknown gunmen on a motorcycle attacked a police station in Mayo Bani Village of Mubi North Local Government Area of Adamawa.

Eyewitnesses Thursday in Mayo Bani said that two gunmen on motorcycle Wednesday night opened fire on the station and escaped.

They said that during the attack, two policemen were injured, and “are now receiving treatment at the Mubi General Hospital”.

Similarly, an unidentified man has been shot dead in front of his house Wednesday night along Ahmadu Bello Way in Mubi, Adamawa.

The witnesses also said, there was a shooting incident at the Mubi grain market, during which one person was feared dead.

When contacted on the incidents, the Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Adamawa Police Command, Mrs Altine Daniel, said the command was yet to confirm the incidents.

NAN recalls that on Monday, five people, including a soldier, a police inspector and three civilians, lost their lives in a shooting incident in Mubi.

The Monday night incident occurred after six death bodies riddled with bullet wounds were discovered on the streets of Mubi on Monday morning, which triggered a protest by residents of the town.

Meanwhile, the Adamawa Government has announced a dusk to dawn curfew in Mubi following recent development in the town.

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Gunmen raid another bank in Gombe

Unidentified gunmen attacked the Talasse branch of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc in Balanga Local government Area of Gombe State on Friday, the Police said.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Gombe State, Mr. Ahmad Muhammad, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Gombe on Friday that the hoodlums raided the bank about 1.45 a.m.

But could not gain access to the vault. Mohammed, however, said that the hoodlums looted money from other places in the bank and added that policemen in the area foiled the operation by giving the criminals a chase and recovering part of the stolen money. “I can’t say how much was stolen precisely but it was not much.

Our men pursued them and recovered some amount and other items that are assisting us in getting them,” he said. recalls that on Wednesday some gunmen attacked a police outstation and two banks in Ashaka town of Funakaye Local Government Area.

The gunmen killed the Divisional Police Officer of Bajoga, his driver and two other policemen, while an inspector also sustained serious injuries during the attack

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Gunmen kill 27 in raids on road checkpoints

Gunmen disguised as police raided checkpoints and homes in western Iraq on Monday, killing at least 27 members of the security forces, police said, in an attack the authorities said bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

The attacks in Anbar, once Iraq's most violent province, raise concern that Iraq's branch of al Qaeda may regain a foothold there after the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December.

Anbar was almost entirely under control of al Qaeda during the height of Iraq's insurgency from 2005-07, when the militants were defeated by local tribesmen and U.S. forces.

Mohammed Fathi, spokesman for the governor of Anbar province, said the latest attack bore the "fingerprints of al Qaeda."

A police source, who had been ferrying victims to the hospital morgue, said gunmen dressed in uniforms of the security forces had driven from checkpoint to checkpoint slaughtering police in Haditha, a town 190 km (120 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

"The gunmen used security vehicles and from 2:00 a.m. (11:00 p.m.) until 3:30 a.m. they carried out attacks on checkpoints in central Haditha and the nearby town of Barwana," the police source, who did not give his name because he was not authorised to speak to the media, told Reuters in Fallujah.

Fathi, the governor's spokesman, said the attackers arrived at checkpoints with fake arrest warrants, confiscated the mobile phones of the police guards and executed them.

Another police source said one of the damaged vehicles left behind had fliers signed by an al Qaeda affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, which threatened Iraqi police forces with death if they did not abandon their jobs.

The 27 dead included a lieutenant colonel and a captain who were dragged out of their homes in Haditha and killed, the police source said. A curfew was imposed on the town and its exits were sealed off.

One gunman was killed in the attacks, the source said. Three policemen survived the attacks with wounds and were being treated at Haditha hospital.

A medical source at Hadita hospital confirmed the hospital had received 27 bodies of slain victims and was treating three wounded.

CATASTROPHE

Fathi said the attackers may have intended to derail a summit of Arab leaders set for later this month. Iraq is due to host a summit of the Arab League for the first time since the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and its leaders have been at pains to say security is under control.

Al Qaeda and other Sunni militant groups oppose the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad and say they will continue to fight despite the withdrawal of U.S. forces last year.

They have continued to strike mainly against the security forces. Coordinated early morning attacks that mainly targeted police in Shi'ite areas killed at least 60 people across the country on February 23.

In Anbar in January, 10 people were killed when gunmen wearing explosive belts stormed a police building in provincial capital Ramadi.

Iraqi political analyst Ibrahim al-Suamidaie blamed the decentralised security structure in the country for the ease with which gunmen are able to exploit weaknesses in the police forces.

"The fact that the security portfolio is not centralised is the biggest reason. This is not just a breach, it's a catastrophe," he told Reuters.

Once an al Qaeda stronghold and Iraq's most violent province in 2004-06, Anbar was subdued in 2006-07 when tribal leaders and former insurgents turned against the fighters. Tribal "awakening" militia joined U.S. forces and forced al Qaeda out.

Tension has risen between Anbar and the Shi'ite-led central government in recent months, following an arrest campaign against former members of Saddam's banned Baath party.

(Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, Suadad al-Salhy and Yara Bayoumy in Baghdad; Writing by Yara Bayoumy and Peter Graff Editing by Maria Golovnina)

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Gunmen kill four policemen in Jonathan’s state

Gunmen on Thursday opened fire and killed four marine policemen on patrol on waterways in President Goodluck Jonathan’s Bayelsa home state, state police spokesman said.

“We lost four of our officers today in an attack launched by unknown gunmen. The policemen were on patrol on the waterways when they were shot and killed,” Emokpae Eguavoen said.

The policemen were killed at the marine police checkpoint on Nembe river in the southern state, he said.

No arrests were made, he said.

In another development, three members of the Joint Task Force (JTF), a military outfit deployed in the region to tackle crime, including oil theft and piracy, were also attacked by unknown gunmen in an ambush, an army spokesman said.

Colonel Timothy Antigha, spokesman for the JTF, who confirmed the attack, denied knowledge that the three military men were killed.

There had been unconfimed reports that the three — two soldiers and a naval rating — were killed in the attack.

“I am not aware that the three were killed. I know the attack took place when the team was going from Brass to Ogbia (in Bayelsa state). They were apparently ambushed. We are still gathering information on the incident”, he said.

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Police arrest four men with firearms in Owerri

The ranks of criminals operating in Imo State have again been depleted, following arrest of four young men who were in possession of arms and ammunition by the state Police Command. The suspects claimed to be students of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri.

Vanguard investigations revealed that members of the gang were apprehended at a police check point along the ever busy Owerri-Port Harcourt federal highway.

It was not very clear at press time how the policemen, who were on a stop and search operation near the main gate of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, suspected the occupants of a taxi cab and decided to search them thoroughly.

Confirming the arrest of the four suspects, the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Sam Oodee, said luck ran out on the armed hoodlums at a police check point at Umuagwo”.

Oodee said that “after searching taxi cab, one locally made pistol, one life cartridge, one penknife & about three cell phones were recovered from the suspects”.

When asked for more details, the PPRO said that when the occupants of the taxi cab were asked to come down for searching, they dropped the gun under the driver’s seat.

Oodee promised that “investigation is currently going on and when it is completed, they will definitely be prosecuted in a competent court of the land.”

He appealed to the citizenry to always give credible information to security agencies for prompt action, adding that “this is one of the ways the people can assist the police in keeping the society free from crime and criminals”.

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3 bandits die in gun duel in Delta

Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar may have opened a new vista in crime fighting in the Nigeria Police Force with what appears to be a fresh resolve by state Commissioners of Police and their men to fight criminals and criminality in all ramifications.

Commissioner of Police in Delta state, Mr Mamman Tsafe, confirmed the operational resolution of state police chiefs while addressing newsmen in Warri, weekend, on the gun battle between men of the Counter Terrorist Squad in Warri and a five-man armed robbery gang.

He said under the new IGP, Commissioners of Police across the states and other senior police officers have agreed to work harder and revamp the image of the police force, adding, “I can tell you that the new spirit is permeating the entire police force”.

On the three armed robbers that were shot dead, he said they were part of the organized crime gang that had shot dead over 10 policemen “in the last few breaks and stolen their rifles” in the state were shot dead.

Forty-eight hours earlier, a three –man gang, which carried out their robbery operations in camouflage military uniform, was nabbed by the Marine Police in Warri. One of the suspects had confessed that the uniform was given to him by a serving soldier and the allegation is under investigation.

Commissioner Tsafe said the bandits were carrying out robbery operation along Udu Road, Warri, when they sighted the police team and opened fire on the sqaud.

He said the policemen responded and subdued the bandits, killing two on the spot in the ensuing crossfire, while the third one, who escaped into the swamp with bullet wounds, was found dead in the early hours of yesterday by the team.

Commissioner Tsafe said two other members of the gang escaped with bullet wounds and the police have mounted a manhunt for them.

His words, “Two locally made cut to size gun and five live cartridges were recovered from the hoodlums and one Camry car with registration number, CU 62 RBC”.

According to him, “Our operational activities have been intensified more than ever before with the assumption of duty of the new IGP, he has directed all police commissioners to fight criminals and criminality in all its ramifications, not just Boko Haram alone, and I tell you, officers and men are determined to do more under his leadership”.

A woman, Mrs. Precious Owolo, who identified one of the deceased bandits, said the gang snatched her Toyota Matrix, Saturday evening, and forced her and her over one-year-old baby into the Toyota Camry car that was recovered by the police.

Area Commander of Police, Warri, Mr Abutu Yaro told newsmen that police were combing the oil city and environs for the wounded bandits and Mrs. Owolo’s car.

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15 traders killed, burnt by gunmen in Zamfara

Gunmen have killed 15 village traders returning from a market at night and set their bodies ablaze in Zamfara state, a local police chief said on Friday.

“Gunmen, suspected to be armed robbers, attacked some local traders on their way back from a market in neighbouring Katsina state late Thursday,” Zamfara state police commissioner Tambrai Yabo said.

“The armed robbers waylaid the traders travelling back in an open truck and opened fire on them. They then loaded the truck with 14 bodies and burnt them,” said Yabo, adding that a 15th victim had died in hospital.

Villagers said around 100 robbers came out of the bush and forced the truck to stop. The attack occurred near a village that is close to the town of Birnin Magaji in Zamfara state, which borders Niger.

Armed robberies have been on the rise in Zamfara in recent months.

In October, marauding bandits combed a village in Lingyado and killed 19 people in response to an attack on a gang of robbers by local vigilantes, residents said.

In December, four policemen and two children from one family were killed by armed men in Dansadau village.

Zamfara is around 350 kilometres west of Kano city, where Islamist sect Boko Haram killed 185 people in a wave of gun and bomb attacks a week ago.

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Gunmen kill DPO, Soldiers, 8 others in Bauchi

A Divisional Police Office, an army lance corporal, an air force personnel belonging to the Special Task Force and eight civilians were killed Saturday night in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State during a robbery operation. The Special Task Force from Plateau State is now deployed in Tafawa Balewa to help quell the crisis.

The DPO who was in acting capacity, the air-force personnel and the eight civilians Daily Sun learnt were killed in Tafawa Balewa town during the attack. The soldier was said to have been killed at a roadblock in Mararaba Liman Katagun. The killing of the DPO, the military personnel and the civilians came just as three explosions occurred in three locations in Bauchi, the state capital.

The Bauchi State Police Commissioner, Mr. Ikechukwu Ayo Aduba confirmed the incident at a press conference held in his office yesterday in Bauchi. Aduba said that the victims were killed in a massive Robbery attacked launched by hoodlums at Tafawa Balewa axis of Bauchi State.

According to him, the aim of the attack was to rob, but was foiled by a combined team of Military/Police personnel who confronted the hoodlums while attempting to break in to one of the old generation banks located in the town.

The Police Boss said the hoodlums were also said to have beat a retreat on Military/police personnel at Mararaba Liman Katagum Road block from the scene of the crime, leading to the untimely death of police/army officers apart from attack on one of the generation Bank in Tafawa-Balewa. The Police Commissioner also confirmed that three Improvise Explosive Devices (IEDs) rocked two churches in Railway Area and Fadaman Mada.

He said the explosives could be compared to the one used in quarries and caused minimal damages in the churches. No lives were lost, he said.

He said that 10 unexploded explosive devices were recovered at the scene, while six persons have been arrested and are currently aiding investigations. Aduba stressed that this is a trying time that required public support in centralizing security network with a call on members of the public to give useful information to the police and other security agencies to help fight crime. He lamented that evil men are trying to truncate the relative peace in the state. It was learnt that the DPO, Mr. Adelekan was killed in his hotel room, by the attackers who touched civilians’ houses in Tafawa Balewa.

The Secretary Sayawa Council of Elders, Bukata Zhadi in a telephone interview told our correspondent that over five houses were bombed during the attack. Zyadi debunked the Police Commissioner’s claim that it was a bank robbery saying it was a coordinated attack on the residents of Tafwa Balewa town by the Hausa Fulani.

He said that at least eight people in Tafawa Balewa died during the attack, while five were injured.

He said that property worth millions of naira were destroyed as a result of multiple explosions launched by the attackers.

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