Niger CP: Terrorists Overwhelmed Us, Used Dynamite to Blow up Our Station

Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Niger State Police Command has confirmed that terrorists attacked Agwara community in Agwara local government of the state early Sunday.The command however said it could not contain the terrorists because “we were overwhelmed by the number of the terrorists.”The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abdullahi Adamu Elleman, who confirmed the terrorists attack, said they used dynamite to blow up the police station in the town.According to the police boss, “we got intelligence that the terrorists were around the area so we moved all our weapons from the armoury.“We confronted them for 2 hours but they overwhelmed us because of their number.”Elleman said the terrorists were more than 150.Mr Elleman added that the gunmen after blowing up the police station moved to the UMCA church in the town and burnt part of the church.According to the police boss, five persons were kidnapped before the terrorists disappeared with them into the Kainji National Park forest, adding that “we alerted the army and we are after them.”Early Sunday morning terrorists in their numbers stormed Agwara town in Agwara local government area of the state where they wreaked havoc burning the police station and the UMCA church in the town.According to eyewitnesses, the terrorists invaded the town at about 2am and first parked their motorcycles outside the town before trekking into the town.Their first port of call was the police station which they sprayed with petrol before setting it on fire after sacking the few policemen on duty.Eyewitnesses said because of the large number of the invaders, the policemen could not contain them making them to run for their livesThe eyewitnesses could not say if any item was taken away from the police station.It was said that from the police station located outside the town, the terrorists moved into the town and burnt down the UMCA church.They were said to have put together the benches in the church, sprayed petrol on them before setting the church on fire.THISDAY learnt that the few people that held the end of month vigil in the church before the arrival of the terrorists ran away for their safety.There is now anxiety in the town because many villagers ran into the bush for safety.A reverend in the Church, Yakubu Yohanna, contacted on phone confirmed the attack, saying “we are just coming back into the town from our hiding places.”Reverend Yohanna confirmed that so far no life has been lost but we are waiting for our people to come out from hiding.Agwara is the local government from where 230 teachers, pupils and students were abducted at Papiri town last year before the Federal Government rescued them.