Suspected repentant Boko Haram insurgents have launched a brazen attack, targeting the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) checkpoints in Kasuwan Fara, a suburb of Maiduguri metropolis, Borno State.
According to security analyst Zagazola Makama, the assailants, allegedly wearing military uniforms, not only set ablaze all structures at the checkpoints but also forcibly chased away personnel on duty.
The confrontation stemmed from an attempt to free eight colleagues arrested for criminal activities related to drug dealing.
The arrests, made during an April 24 raid on the notorious spot, uncovered 426 bottles of spirits, prompting the authorities to intensify efforts to sanitize the area.
No fewer than 3000 ex-Boko Haram members had passed through the De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration camp in the last few years.
Following the failed rescue attempt at the Kasuwan Fara police station on May 2, where the Divisional Police Officer and his team repelled the attackers, the assailants redirected their aggression towards NDLEA and NCS personnel checkpoints along the Maiduguri-Gubio road.
They reportedly burnt down the checkpoints and fled the scene before authorities could apprehend them.
In response to the incident, Borno Police Command spokesman, ASP Kenneth Daso, confirmed ongoing investigations to apprehend the attackers.
He said ”the suspected repentant insurgents, reportedly wearing military uniform, had pounced on the police office to forcefully set free their eight colleagues arrested at the suburb over criminal activities bordering on dealing in hard drugs.
“The arrest was made on April 24 during a raid carried out by the police on the notorious spot at the criminals-ridden Kasuwan Fara.
“Due to the rise and persistence of criminal activities and sinister operations by drug peddlers comprising dismissed military personnel, repentant insurgents and other hoodlums, who assemble there to conduct nefarious activities, the area had since been earmarked for closure by Borno State Government.
“The April 24 raid, where the eight suspected repentant insurgents were arrested and 426 bottles of spirits such as dry gin confiscated, was conducted to sanitize the area, pending the final closure.
“The arrested persons were detained at the Kasuwan Fara police division since the day of their arrest.
“Subsequently, at about 7:40am of Thursday, May 2, a dozen of the suspected repentant insurgents in military uniform, stormed the Kasuwan Fara police station in an attempt to rescue their arrested fellows.
“The Divisional Police Officer alongside his men were able to repel the attack while the perpetrators fled.
“Consequently, the assailants, in an apparent transfer of aggression, reverted to attacking NDLEA and NCS personnel checkpoint along the Maiduguri-Gubio road Kasuwan Fara, where they burnt down the checkpoints alongside the sandbags heaped on the road and fled the scene.
“The Borno Police Command spokesman, ASP Kenneth Daso, who confirmed the incident, said investigations are ongoing to apprehend the attackers, and the arrested eight suspects have been transferred to Anti-Crack Squad Div HQ for further action,” the report said.
Meanwhile, the eight suspects arrested earlier have been transferred to the Anti-Crack Squad Div HQ for further action.
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