For the first time in many years, a group has killed too many policemen to put Boko Haram in a second place.
The number of policemen who lost their lives to attacks by gunmen operating in the South-East and South-South has surpassed the ones killed by Nigeria’s Boko Haram terrorists that active in the North-East by a ratio of 1:12 over the last four months, according to checks by Dateline.
Similarly, the group, which has been tagged ‘unknown gunmen’ by the media, has attacked more police facilities than Boko Haram insurgents during the same period.
Boko Haram insurgency, which has been on for over a decade, is blamed for loss of thousands of lives of both civilians and security personnel. The terrorist group, in the past, controlled a swathe of the North-East, imposing its harsh interpretation of the Shari’ah law on the population before it was dislodged by the Nigeria’s military.
Still active, the group has been targeting communities and military bases. Their attacks on police stations and officers were cut after their expulsion from communities they once controlled.
A review of media reports, from January to May by Dateline, shows that eight police officers died in the hands of Boko Haram in the last four months, compared to 97 killed by unknown gunmen targeting security forces in the South-East and South-South.
The gunmen have also attacked over 20 police stations and facilities in the seven states where their activities have become prevalent.
Who are the ‘unknown gunmen’?
The concept of the unknown gunmen became a popular usage in the Nigerian media following the spate of gun attacks on civilians, security forces and facilities in the South-East and parts of the South-South regions, recently.
It is also used to describe AK-47 wielding men who launch attacks on non-indigenes, especially people of northern origin residing in the South-East, leading to the death of many.
Security analysts, however, believe that such attacks started only after the establishment of a regional security outfit, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), by the proscribed separatist group IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) in December last year, ostensibly to check the growing menace of herdsmen allegedly terrorizing the region.
The Nigeria Police Force has accused IPOB/ESN as being behind the attacks. In April, the military announced the killing of the group’s second in command, Ikonso, during exchange of gunfire at a place he was “plotting dastardly acts against the Nigerian state”.
The military said the ESN commander “ordered” the attacks on a custodial centre and police headquarters in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, in the same month.
But IPOB has consistently denied having a hand in the attacks in the South-East and South South regions.
IPOB, a separatist group, is fighting for an independent state to be carved out of the South-East, South-South and the North-Central and to be called Biafra.
The group was proscribed by a Nigerian Federal High Court in 2018 and it’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was charged for “conspiracy and belonging to an illegal association” before he jumped bail and fled the country.
How unknown gunmen outkilled…
Dateline’s review of cases reported by the media about gunmen attacks in the South-East and South-South between January 8 to May 10, 2021, indicates that a total of 97 policemen have been killed by the unknown gunmen.
Some of these victims were gunned down during attacks on police stations, while others were killed at checkpoints or on patrol.
During the same period, Boko Haram killed eight police officers. Two of the policemen were killed in an attack on Chabol-Magumeri Highway in Borno on January 31. The other six died in an attack on Bayamari community in Bursari Local Government Area of Yobe State on February 16.
Boko Haram, our checks show, have killed more soldiers than the unknown gunmen in the space of four months. The insurgents were reported to have killed 74 soldiers in various attacks in Borno and Yobe states.
On their part, the gunmen operating in the South-East and South-South have been reported to have killed four soldiers in Orlu, in Imo, and two more during the attack on Owerri.
A breakdown by months shows that nine police officers were killed in January (from January 8), 23 in February, another 23 in March, 24 in April and 18 in May (as at May 10).
On a state by state basis, Akwa Ibom State recorded the highest cases of police deaths from gunmen attack. The police authorities in the state said last week that 21 policemen, 11 vehicles and seven firearms were lost to the gunmen.
The state witnessed its highest daily casualty in the attacks by the rampaging gunmen on May 8, when five officers were gunned down at the Divisional Police Headquarters in Odoro Ikpe in Ini Local Government Area while two others were killed on the same day at Mkpatak Police Station in Essen Udim Local Government Area.
A number of police stations have been damaged in some of the attacks.
Anambra comes third on the casualty tally after Akwa Ibom and Delta states, with 16 officers killed in the state. The state has seen multiple attacks on police stations and in March, a prison official and another individual were killed after gunmen ambushed a prison van and freed inmates.
A total of 11 police officers have been killed in Imo, one of the states where the unknown gunmen have carried out most of their attacks.
In a daring night operation on April 4, the gunmen stormed the state police headquarters and a custodial centre in Owerri, freeing 1,844 inmates. A day after that attack, Ehime police station was raided in another part of the state where suspects were freed from custody.
In Ebonyi, a total of 12 police officers were killed, some of them during attacks on police facilities.
Seven policemen have been killed so far in Abia State while 11 have been fell by the unknown gunmen in Rivers State.
A total of 17 officers were killed in Delta State during attacks on checkpoints and police patrols.
Abia and Enugu states have the lowest casualty figures, with seven and two deaths, respectively.
