40 gunmen attack Abuja police detention facility
Forty
gunmen suspected to be terrorists in the early hours of Monday stormed
the office of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja, where suspects
were being held.
Two policemen and one of the gunmen were
killed in the incident, the first of its kind in the Federal Capital
Territory which had in the past recorded three bomb blasts.
The blasts were on October 1, 2010; June 16, 2011; and August 26, 2011.
At least 30 detainees, including some
Boko Haram members, were said to have escaped during the Monday attack
on the detention facility.
But the police denied that terror
suspects were among the escapees. They also said that 25 of the 30
detainees had so far been rearrested.
The attack occurred barely 24 hours
after twin car bomb blasts at the Armed Forces Command and Staff
College, Jaji, Kaduna State.
The army authorities had on Friday
declared 19 Boko Haram leaders wanted and offered rewards of between
N50m and N10m for information that could lead to their capture.
A source in the police told one of our
correspondents that the surprise attack on the detention facility,
located around Abattoir, Garki in Abuja was carried out around 2am.
It lasted for some minutes during which heavy weapons were allegedly used by the gunmen.
The senior police officer put the
number of the attackers at about 40. “The attackers numbering about 40
came from the bush and attempted to overrun the facility but the valiant
policemen on duty repelled them.” the source said.
According to him, one of the attackers was killed and two others arrested.
A mobile police officer, whose name
could not be immediately ascertained and a police Inspector, Fakat
Zaremi, were killed during the exchange of gunfire.
Emmanuel Domsing, a lawyer, said he was informed early in the morning that his brother, Zaremi, was killed by the gunmen.
He said, “I was called that my elder
brother was killed during the attack, but information is scanty on what
actually transpired; the family is waiting for a formal report from the
police.”
Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed
Abubakar, visited the facility around 1pm on Monday. He was briefed by
the SARS Commander and the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of
Police, Ade Shinaba.
Abubakar, then ordered a high-powered
panel headed by a Senior Police Officer to investigate the circumstances
surrounding the incident.
Some senior military officers were also said to have paid visits to the facility to commiserate with the police on the attack.
When one of our correspondents visited
the detention facility, security around the complex was tight as armed
policemen turned back all visitors.
A photojournalist with Daily Independent,
Jide Oyekunle, was arrested and detained by the police for attempting
to take pictures of the SARS office after the invasion by the gunmen.