Following the death of three policemen and one
civilian in the hand of some soldiers on Wednesday, two
more civilian deaths have been recorded on Thursday.
It was learnt that the two recent deaths were recorded at the wee
hours of the day, having been in a comatose state prior their death.
A police source who spoke to journalists on anonymity said
they were still expecting the army to hand over the errant soldiers to the
police for investigation and possible prosecution.
Although the army headquarters had admitted culpability in
said matter, they were yet to make clear, plans to re-arrest the escaped kidnap
kingpin that the police had previously arrested.
Some soldiers had accosted the police operatives attached to
the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT), who were on
decoy operation in Taraba State.
The policemen had arrested one kidnap kingpin, Alhaji
Hamilton, who had been on their radar having been indicted in a series of
high-profile kidnap incidents in the state.
They were however intercepted by the soldiers who shot them
at gunpoint, killing three policemen and a civilian, leaving others with
varying degree of injuries.
Out of the injured persons, including a civilian police informant,
a guide and some police operatives, two of the civilians later died today from
the gunshot wounds received, thus increasing the death toll to six.
It was also exclusively gathered that the army authorities,
who were highly embarrassed by the incident, have launched a manhunt for the
fleeing kidnap kingpin.
Multiple sources were however not sure if the army has any
plans to hand over the soldiers to the police for investigation.
One of the sources said: "You know we have our own
inhouse disciplinary system. We are conducting our own investigation and we
don't intend to cover anything as being alleged.”
Reacting to the incident, the Force Public Relations
Officer, Frank Mba, a deputy commissioner of police, finally revealed the
identities of the slain officers.
According to Mba, the police had delayed revealing their
identities to enable them contact their respective families.
The deceased officers, identified as Inspector Mark Adiale,
and Sergeant Musa Dahiru were led by Felix Adolije, an assistant superintendent
of police, who was also shot.
According to the police, “the galant, outstanding and innocent
IRT team attacked by the soldiers in Taraba State is one of the best and most
highly trained IRT teams in the country.
“They are part of the
teams responsible for the arrest of Nigeria’s most notorious kidnap kingpin
Evans; arrest of 22 Boko Haram terrorists responsible for the 2014 kidnapping
of the Chibok School Girls in Borno State.
“They were also part of the team that arrested Umar Abdulmalik, the overall Boko Haram commander
of North-central Nigeria and several of
his group members.
“They also arrested the kidnappers of the two American and
two Canadian citizens in Kaduna State, and most recently, the rescue of Magajin
Garin Daura in Kano State and arrest of the 13 terrorists responsible for his
kidnapping.
“It is very sad that the notorious leader of the kidnappers
that was arrested by IRT in Taraba State, with handcuff and leg chain was
released by the army to escape.”
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