POLICEMEN ON PATROL

Gunmen kill three police officers in Kano attacks

At least three police officers were killed on Monday when unidentified gunmen invaded the residence of the Kano state police commissioner at the Chiranchi Dorayi quarters along Panshekara road, reports said.

Others were injured in the attack which took place on Monday afternoon. The gunmen had stormed the premises of the senior police official and opened fire outside the residence, killing two officers standing guard at the gates.

Eye witnesses report seeing three gunmen, two of them on a motorcycle had come in from the alley, while the third had approached from the main road on foot.

Residents fled to safety to avoid getting caught in the cross fire, the eye witness reported, adding that two other policemen were felled in the shooting.

All three gunmen eventually ran out of ammunition, taking off on foot through back alleys as some passers-by attempted to capture them.

Kano state police spokesman ASP Magaji Musa Majia confirmed the incident, adding that the area has been cordoned off by police. He denied reports that four police officers were killed, claiming instead that two policemen were killed while the other two officers sustained serious injuries.

Nigeria’s radical Islamic sect Boko Haram sect has claimed attacks on security personnel, including the multiple bomb attacks in Kano targeting security posts that left at least 185 people dead earlier this year.

Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram kill four in Maiduguri

At least four people were killed over the weekend in separate attacks by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect, in their heartland of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital city.

According to reports, a woman and her 10-year-old child were shot dead on Saturday night when gunmen suspected to be members of the sect barged into their residence in Zannari on the outskirts of town.

The attack happened at about 8:30 p.m. and resident said the gunmen also shot and killed another unidentified man. They fled the scene of the crime, leaving their victims in a pool of blood, reports said.

Another wave of attacks followed on Sunday when sect gunmen killed a trader at the popular Gamboru market in the city.

Buyers and sellers alike scampered to safety when the gunmen entered into the market and opened fire at random. A trader was killed in the Sunday attacks.

Police spokeswoman in Maiduguri confirmed the killings to BBC Hausa service, according to reports.