Bandits Attack Kaduna Police Station, Injure Three Officers

• Police rescue eight abducted passengers
John Shiklam in Kaduna

Three police officers have been injured in an attack by bandits on the Maraban Jos Divisional Police Station, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

This is coming as the Katsina State Police Command has rescued eight out of the 11 passengers abducted by bandits in Kabobi village in Batsari Local Government Area of the state.

In a statement issued yesterday, the spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mohammad Jalige, said the attack occurred on Friday when the hoodlums, who arrived the police division in three Sharon utility vehicles opened fire at the police officers on duty in their desperate attempts to gain access to the armoury.

Jalige said the police personnel, using their superior and tactical firepower, forced the bandits to retreat, some of them with bullet wounds.
According to Jalige, the gun duel between the bandits and the police lasted for some minutes, before they were repelled.
He however said, one police inspector and two Special Constabulary personnel sustained varying degrees of injuries and were receiving medical treatment.

The statement said: “On July, 23 at 2300hrs there was an attack on Maraban Jos Divisional Police Headquarters, where bandits in large number came in three Sharon utility vehicles and in their desperate attempt to override the personnel on duty shot sporadically in order to gain access into the Divisional amoury but met professional and stiff resistance from the personnel on duty.

“The gun duel between the bandits and the Station Guards lasted for some minutes however; the superior and tactical fire power of the police forced the bandits to retreat, of which some sustained fatal bullet wounds.

“The operatives were able to secure the armoury, the entire station and other adjoining facilities at the division. Sadly, one Inspector and two Special Constabulary personnel sustained varying degrees of injuries and are currently receiving medical treatment.

“Investigation into the incident has since commenced using the available evidence recovered from the scene as effort is geared towards apprehending the fleeing hoodlums.
“In view of the above incident the Commissioner of Police Kaduna Command issued a directive to all officers of the command to ensure that proactive measures are emplaced to protect all police facilities in the state and forestall the repeat of the ugly incident”.

Meanwhile, the Katsina State Police Command has rescued eight out of the 11 passengers abducted by bandits in Kabobi village in Batsari Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isah, confirmed the rescue of the victims in a separate statement issued yesterday.

He said the command received a distress call through the Batsari Divisional Police Officer (DPO) that at about 14:30hrs on Friday, bandits blocked the Jibia-Batsari road and kidnapped occupants of a Volkswagen wagon with registration number EPE 754 EZ.

On receipt of the report, he said the Batsari DPO led operatives of Operation Puff Adder and Sharan Daji to the scene and engaged the bandits in a gun duel and successfully rescued eight of the kidnapped victims.
He said: “On 23/07/2021 at about 14:30hrs, bandits in their numbers, on motorbikes, armed with AK 47 rifles, blocked Jibia – Batsari road, exactly at Kabobi village, Batsari LGA of Katsina State.

“The hoodlums attacked and kidnapped all the occupants of a motor vehicle, Volkswagen Passat Wagon, white in colour, with registration number EPE 754 EZ and whisked them away into the forest.”
Isah noted that search parties have been deployed in the area with a view to arresting the fleeing bandits and to rescue the remaining three missing persons.