terrorists on Wednesday bombed a police
station, a bank and a Sharia Court, killing
seven policemen and a civilian guard in
Gwaram Sabuwa, Gwaram Local Government
Area of Jigawa State.
Four other persons were also said to have
been injured during the incident which
occurred between 1am and 2am.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police,
Zone 1, Mr. Tambari Muhammed, confirmed
this in Dutse just as news of another
bloodshed by armed men in Niger State
spread.
Muhammed, who was quoted by the News
Agency of Nigeria as putting the number of
the attackers at 20, described the incident as
unfortunate.
He added that from the information made
available to him, the bandits who arrived in
the community in motorcycles and cars, used
explosives to attack the police station, the
bank and the court.
Muhammed said that no arrest had been made
but that more armed policemen had been
deployed in the village.
An online news portal Saharareporters,
quoted residents as saying that the gunmen
bombed the police station in Gwaram Sabuwa
before shooting indiscriminately at villagers.
It added that the residents said the gunmen
"numbering over 20" operated and left
unhindered.
According to them, the gunmen threatened to
come back if they continued to enrol their
children in schools, accept polio vaccination
and operate football viewing centres in the
town.
But as the news of the Jigawa attack spread,
there were reports that gunmen invaded and
killed two people in Shadna, Bosso LGA of
Niger State.
It was gathered that three other persons
sustained injuries during the invasion which
took place when the villagers were having
their monthly traditional dance on Tuesday
night.
The injured persons were rushed to an
undisclosed hospital while the dead were
buried according to Islamic rites.
The state Police Public Relations Officer,
Richard Adamu Oguche, confirmed the report
and urged the villagers to assist the police
with information that could aid the arrest of
the attackers.
In Bauchi State, arsornists on Wednesday
morning burnt down the All Progressives
Congress secretariat on Gombe Road, Bauchi.
It was learnt that the burnt secretariat was
slated for the APC ward congress which was
scheduled to commence by 8am.
But the party still went ahead to conduct the
congress in all the 20 LGAs in the state
despite the fire.
A member of the party, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said that all the office
equipment and other things inside the
secretariat were looted by the hoodlums
before setting it on fire.
He also alleged that the arson was carried out
by thugs loyal to one of the factions of the
party in the state.
The spokesman for the party in the state,
Alhaji Bappah Tafida, said the fire was an act
of "desperate politicians."
He said, "I cannot precisely say who is
responsible for this but I know that this is the
handiwork of desperate politicians who are
contesting and who think the party will not be
just and fair to them."
When contacted, the state Police Public
Relations Officer, Mohammed Haruna, said,
"Information at our disposal indicates that
unknown hoodlums at 2.00am burnt down
part of the Bauchi LGA secretariat of the APC.
"No life was lost during the fire incident and
the value of the property destroyed is yet to
be ascertained. We have commenced
investigation."
Meanwhile, leaders of southern Kaduna groups
on Tuesday signed a six-page document to
end about 14 years of hostility between the
Hausa-Fulani and other ethnic groups in the
southern part of the state.
The reconciliation move was at the instance of
the committee set up by the Inspector-general
of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, to
resolve the clashes between herdsmen and the
communities.
The Chairman of the committee, Michael
Zuokumor, and the state Commissioner for
Police, Umar Shehu, were among those that
witnessed the signing of the document.
According to the document read by the
National President of the Southern Kaduna
People's Union, Dr. Ephraim Goje, the groups
condemned what they described as the
wanton destruction of lives and property in
the state.
They also declared a ceasefire to create an
enabling environment for dialogue for the
return of enduring peace and unity to the
area.
The document urged the state government to
establish a peace and reconciliation
commission and to complete the gazetting of
all existing grazing reserves and livestock
routes in the state.
But there was a problem as a coalition of
community development associations, civil
society organisation and non-governmental
organisations in Southern Kaduna, kicked
against the peace deal with the Fulani.
They noted that the Committee on Peace and
Reconciliation was a mere charade.
The Convener of the coalition, Zakari Sogfa,
who led others to a press conference in
Kaduna on Tuesday, added that the Southern
Kaduna people were never at war with any
ethnic group and therefore had no reason to
be at any peace treaty.
On Tuesday, the United States Ambassador to
Nigeria, James Entwistle, began a tour of
some states in the North-Central for a first
hand report on the security situation in the
zone.
Entwistle was said to have met with the Benue
State Governor, Gabriel Suswan, and the
management, staff and students of the Benue
State University.
During the meeting, he emphasised the need
for inter-faith cooperation and tolerance
among residents of the state.
The envoy, who was also expected to meet
with political, religious and community
leaders in Nasarawa and Plateau states,
stressed Washington's resolve to continue to
partner Nigeria on "shared security."
He stated that the US would lend its support
to Nigeria's efforts in promoting peace and
tranquility.
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