Monday morning’s attack on the Abuja headquarters of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force by men suspected to be adherents of the Boko Haram Islamist sect was foiled by the superior fighting power of the officers on duty, the Nigeria Police Force has said.
Although the Police conceded that about 30 suspects in detention had escaped immediately after the attack and that about 25 of them had been re-arrested, it claimed that those who fled were not members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect or anyone else being held for terrorism-related charges. It confirmed that it lost two of its men but re-arrested the same number of attackers.
In an earlier report of the attack, Huhuonline had stated that “while the invasion was reported to have been met by significant resistance from the security men, there are unconfirmed reports of the freeing of suspected members of the sect who were in detention at the military facility.”
Speaking on behalf of the Force Public Relations Officer of the Force Headquarters, Abuja, CSP Frank Mba, the deputy force public relations officer, confirmed that unknown gunmen in large number attacked the SARS premises at about 2am on Monday.
“Policemen on duty responded swiftly and engaged the gunmen in a gun battle that lasted for some minutes, at the end of which the gunmen were successfully repelled,” a part of the release stated. “However, in the confusion that ensued, about 30 suspects in the detention facilities of SARS broke out of the cells and attempted to escape.”
Mba said the “tactical and coordinated efforts to re-arrest the fleeing suspects yielded instant result,” and that “so far, 25 of the suspects have been re-arrested, while five suspects originally being held in relation to robbery-related offences are currently at large.”
He added that “two policemen died during the operation while two of the attackers have been arrested,” emphasising that “no suspect held for terror related charges, escaped from SARS detention facilities” and that “no explosive or IED-related materials were used in the botched attack.”
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar, who has personally visited the scene of the incident, has ordered a high-powered investigative panel, headed by a senior police officer to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incidence. He also ordered water-tight security around all government and Police facilities nationwide.
“The Police High Command uses this medium to appeal to Nigerians for calm while reassuring them of the Force’s preparedness to perform its constitutional and statutory responsibilities of providing adequate security for the state and the entire citizenry,” Mba’s statement read further.
“The Force, therefore, enjoins the public to continue to go about their lawful duty without fear or intimidation, as adequate strategies have been put in place to guarantee the general security and safety of all Nigerians.”
Despite Mba’s statement, the attack will be seen as the highlight of renewed vigour of Boko Haram in taking its war to security agencies — at least, until otherwise proven — coming just a day after men suspected to be Boko Haram adherents orchestrated suicide bombing attacks at a military protestant church inside the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna, killing 11 people and injuring another 30, as at first count.
