Gunmen kill politician, official, attack police station

[TGD]

• Lagos police chief allays fear over Boko Haram

THERE may be no end yet to the orgy of violence in Borno State as gunmen in three separate attacks on Sunday evening, shot dead a politician and a top official of the State Ministry of Agriculture (names withheld) in Zajeri and Umarari areas of Maiduguri.

Also, same Sunday unknown gunmen attacked Konduga Divisional Police Station with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), but were repelled by policemen on duty.

Konduga is 40 kilometres east of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abubakar Umar Manko Monday urged residents of the state to disregard insinuations of possible attack by the  Boko Haram Islamic sect.

The gunmen, according to an eyewitness, Yakubu Isa, trailed the politician on a tricycle to his Umarari residence, while the agric officer was also killed at home.

On the Konduga incident, a resident who did not want his name in prints, told The Guardian that when the gunmen attacked the police station, people selling around the area scampered for safety, as they hurriedly shut their shops.

The State Police Commissioner, Abdullahi Yuguda confirmed the incidents, stating that he could not give details of casualties, as the police were  still investigating the matter.

Manko, who spoke to reporters at Ikeja after parading some suspects, who attempted to rob an old generation bank in Ajao Estate, Lagos, noted that the state was too protected for any insurgent group to enter.

"There is no Boko Haram in Lagos and there will not be. Lagos is secured. People should go about their businesses without fear. Security agencies are on the alert in the state. Lagosians should not be afraid."

Manko, who also noted that policemen and military personnel remained their challenge in the restriction of motorcycles on major roads in Lagos, vowed to commence arrest and immediate prosecution of policemen and military personnel who flout the law.

He added, "areas where we still have problems of compliance with the law against motorcycle movement on restricted routes stem from the fact that policemen, military personnel and other uniformed service flout the law. It is illegal for anybody to drive motorcycles on restricted routes whether you are a police officer or not. We will begin to treat policemen and military personnel who flout the law the way we treat ordinary citizens. We should not be seen to flout the law we are enforcing."

The Guardian

[Folami David]

If the politician was bad while he was alive, then it's not a bad news. But if he was as innocent as a new born, then it's bad news