Heavily armed insurgents belonging to the Islamist
sect, Boko Haram, today invaded a well-known Nigerian Police training
college in Gwoza, Borno State.
Our
police sources said the militants, who numbered several hundred, stormed the
police college with five armored tanks they had earlier seized from Nigerian
soldiers who had had made several unsuccessful attempts to dislodge the sect
from Gwoza over the last two weeks.
The
sources told SaharaReporters that the college had five units of police officers
in training at the time of today’s attack. One source disclosed that each unit
had 59 trainees and a unit commander. Among the units in residence at the college
were two mobile police (MOPOL) units from Nasarawa and Gombe States and a
mobile police unit from Abuja. Two other units from Zamfara State were also at
the college during the attack.
One of our sources disclosed that numerous trainees
were killed or seriously injured by the militants who carried out the assault.
“Those who survived the attack had to run to the mountains nearby,” said the
source. He added that some of the trainees managed to escape to Adamawa State.
A
police source told our correspondent that the surging militants blew up an
armored tank stationed at the gate of the training camp before gaining entrance
into the school and wreaking havoc.
Boko
Haram had seized much of Gwoza town two weeks ago. They hoisted the sect’s flag
in the town and appointed an Emir to administer the strategic northeastern
township, after the town’s traditional ruler escaped with other refugees.
The
training center was one of the few government facilities that remained out of
the control of the sect, until today’s massive offensive by the insurgents.
Since
the Islamist group’s take over of much of the town, the Nigerian army had
launched a series of operations to liberate the town. But each of the military
actions had been repelled by the militants in counter-attacks that proved
deadly both for Nigerian troops and insurgents, according to a military source.
Recent
efforts by the military to mobilize troops in a determined battle to wrest
Gwoza from Boko Haram have been hampered by protests by soldiers and their
spouses.
SaharaReporters
learned that many soldiers were refusing orders from their superiors go on
missions against Boko Haram fighters. The defiant soldiers and their wives have
expressed concern that the Islamist insurgents are equipped with weapons that
are far superior to the weaponry and other equipment available to soldiers.
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