THE spate of attacks and general threat to life and public peace in Kano shows no abatement on Wednesday, as murderous gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on a security post in this already beleaguered city, killing a soldier and two policemen.
According to eyewitnesses on the scene, the gunmen had approached the security post on Malam Aminu Kano Way before drawing their guns mow-down the security personnel.
There was no official confirmation of the incident, but agency reports quoted security sources as saying two policemen and a soldier lost their lives in the attack at the Gwammaja area.
Witnesses said security men at the checkpoint returned fire, killing one of the attackers.
“The gunmen came on two motorbikes like ordinary motorcyclists, and when they approached the checkpoint, they drew guns from under their dress and opened fire on the checkpoint,” a witness said.
Soldiers arrived soon after the shooting, taking over the area, but by then the surviving gunmen had fled.
Yesterday’s attack came a day after gunmen fired at the Mandawari police station in Kano city, killing a policeman, in the third such strike on the same station since last month.
No-one took responsibility for the check-point shooting in Kano, which came in the wake of incessant Boko Haram-linked violence in the city.
In Mubi, gunmen on motorbikes and in a car attacked a military patrol team on Monday night, killing a police inspector, a soldier and four other people.
Residents said a unit of military patrol team was also attacked by the gunmen, wounding the men on duty.
Also, unidentified gunmen attacked a military patrol vehicle on Ahmadu Bello Way in Mubi.
The attack was followed by multiple explosions and sporadic gunfire, which started at about 7.40 pm and lasted throughout the night in various parts of the town.
He said the soldiers fired back.
“The gunmen fled the area, leaving one soldier killed and four others wounded. One police officer and other persons were also killed in the attack.
“We could not ascertain the identities of the four persons, whether they were pedestrians or gunmen,” he said.
Spokesman for the Adamawa police command, ASP Altine Daniel, confirmed that a police inspector, a soldier and other three civilians were killed, while three soldiers were wounded in the attacks on Monday night.
Daniel said the police were yet to ascertain the identities of the three dead people.
The attacks in Mubi came after an early morning incident in the town in which six corpses were found riddled with bullets. Residents say the men were killed by soldiers most likely on suspicion that they were Boko Haram members.
- News courtesy of Daily Trust newspaper.