Police confirm attack by terrorists in Sokoto

The police have confirmed that suspected Lakurawa terrorists attacked Kebbe town in Sokoto State on Friday. They said security personnel responded quickly and reinforcements were sent to the area.

The police also stated that no civilian was killed or injured in the attack.

Reports after the incident claimed that four soldiers were killed during the clash, but the Nigerian Army did not confirm this when contacted by PREMIUM TIMES.

Ahmad Rufai, the spokesperson for the Sokoto State Police Command, told PREMIUM TIMES that many armed fighters entered Kebbe, the headquarters of Kebbe Local Government Area, on Friday morning and engaged security personnel.

He said the police responded to the attack and did not suffer any casualties.

“They attacked and we were able to respond, but we don’t have any casualty from our side,” Mr Rufai said.

He mentioned that he heard the military had casualties but refused to specify a number because he could not speak for the army.

“I cannot confirm an issue that is not ours. So, I can’t speak about their casualties,” he said when asked about the reports of four soldiers killed.

Army declines to confirm reported deaths

Following the police spokesperson’s comments, PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Olaniyi Osoba, a lieutenant colonel and acting deputy director of Army Public Relations for the Nigerian Army’s 8 Division and Sector 2 of Operation FANSAN YAMMA. They wanted to find out if troops were involved in the fight and whether the four soldiers' deaths were accurate.

The military spokesperson did not confirm or deny the casualty number, citing security protocols on sharing information.

Mr Osoba said details about military operations and casualties could not be shared over the phone. He advised this reporter to visit the Headquarters, 8 Division, at Giginya Military Cantonment in Sokoto, or wait for a formal statement from the division.

When PREMIUM TIMES explained that they wanted confirmation to avoid reporting an incorrect casualty figure, Mr Osoba insisted he was bound by the army’s rules.

Police deploy reinforcements

Mr Rufai said reinforcements were sent to Kebbe from the Sokoto command headquarters after the attack.

“Since it happened, we sent reinforcement from the command headquarters, and they are still there,” he said.

He added that personnel from the nearby town of Tambuwal also joined the deployment.

According to him, the deployment was to strengthen security around Kebbe town and the police division.

“The area is calm now, as we speak,” he told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday night.

Lakurawa

When asked if the attackers were Lakurawa members, Mr Rufai said Kebbe has seen more incursions linked to the group.

He said armed groups move through parts of northern Sokoto, including Gudu, Tangaza, Silame and Binji, towards Kebbe, which borders Kebbi State to the south and west and Zamfara State to the east.

“Most of these things that attack Kebbe, they are Lakurawas because there’s a forest there where they reside,” he said.

He also referred to previous Lakurawa activities around neighboring areas, including the Maiyama axis of Kebbi State, where PREMIUM TIMES reported in February that troops stopped an ambush by suspected Lakurawa fighters near Mayama Hill.

Mr Rufai said the attackers usually come in large groups and carry weapons, but he did not estimate how many took part in Friday’s attack.

“They don’t come in few. They always come in large numbers carrying weapons,” he said.

He explained that security personnel responding during an attack would find it hard to count accurately.

Hospital report not confirmed

The first report of the attack said the armed men entered Kebbe General Hospital and stole mobile phones and other belongings from patients.

Mr Rufai said the police did not have information to confirm this part of the incident.

“I don’t have that information at hand,” he said.

He also clarified that reports of a police vehicle and a Community Guard Corps vehicle being burnt referred to a different attack about two weeks earlier.

“It was not this attack,” he said.

The report also mentioned that vehicles around the hospital premises were damaged during Friday’s attack. PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify this claim.

Attackers reportedly moved through another community

Bashar Altine, a Sokoto-based security analyst who monitored the situation during and after the attack, said the fighters moved through the Sabon Gari area of Kebbe, where shops were reportedly broken into and goods taken.

Mr Altine said the attackers were later seen around Ungushi, another community in Kebbe Local Government Area.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the reported movement of the attackers after they left Kebbe town.

Mr Rufai said it is also hard to determine casualties among the attackers because armed groups sometimes take their dead and wounded with them while retreating.

He said security agencies would only confirm such casualties when there is physical evidence.

The Kebbe attack takes place amid ongoing security operations against Lakurawa and other armed groups in Sokoto, Kebbi and other parts of the North-west.

In May, PREMIUM TIMES reported attacks on military positions in Sokoto and Kebbi as concerns about jihadist activity in the region grow.