UNKNOWN gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect, on Wednesday evening, laid ambush on Santimari Polo Road and killed two people, while three others were seriously wounded, even as another bomb exploded in Gwange ward at the same time.The Gwange explosion, which took place at Layin Bus around 7.45 p.m., was believed to have been planted by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, who have been terrorising the northern part of the country, particularly Borno.Nigerian Tribune gathered that the yet to be identified gunmen, who laid siege to the Polo area, came in an unmarked Vokswagen Golf car at about 7.49 p.m., where they opened fire on some people who were playing cards in front of a shop belonging to a GSM recharge card dealer, which led to the killing of two people, including the head teacher of Cocin Church Primary School in Polo, Mallam Caleb.The gunmen, according to investigation, were targeting a State Security Service (SSS) officer, who normally visits the shop, especially in the night to chat with his friends after closing from work.An eyewitness, who did not want his name mentioned, said he was just walking along the main road when he saw some gunmen open fire from the direction he was coming, and he quickly lay down flat to avoid being hit by stray bullets.He said: 'I just heard them saying to people, 'don't run; don't worry, we are not here for you; we have our target.' I believe they came to hunt for one SSS man, who normally comes here to play cards with some of his friends, but they ended up killing innocent people who they thought was the SSS man. The SSS man was, however, lucky as I learnt that he didn't visit the shop that day,' he said.Polo was one of the areas where many people believed was a haven, as most of the residents of the area are predominantly Christians, but it has now turned a dangerous zone, as it has experienced several attacks in the past two months.Confirming the incident to newsmen, the spokesman for the Joint Task Force on Operation Restore Order in Borno State, Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Mohammed, said some members of the Boko Haram sect detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at about 7.45 p.m. on Wednesday in Gwange ward.He stressed that the sect members were targeting one of their patrol vehicles, but missed it, as bomb exploded after their patrol vehicle had left the area. He said that no casualty was recorded in the blast.He also said some yet to be identified gunmen came to Polo in a Volkswagen Golfcar at the same time when the Gwange blast occurred and opened fire on some members of the public. He said the sound of the gunshots attracted his men who were based in the area and they quickly rushed to the scene.Hassan said on reaching the scene, his men pursued two of the suspects, but when the suspects discovered that they would be captured, they abandoned their Golf car and took to their heels. He said no arrest was made, but normalcy had restored in the troubled areas and the people were now going about their usual businesses.
Click here to read full news..
