Soldiers kill two Policemen at checkpoint in Taraba State

The Taraba State Police Command has accused soldiers of shooting two policemen to death at a military checkpoint near the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in the Jalingo area of the state.

According to Abdullahi Usman, the state Police Public Relations Officer, two other policemen were injured during the attack and are currently receiving treatment in hospital.

The incident occurred at around 8:30 am on Monday.

Usman confirmed that an investigation would be conducted to ascertain the cause of the incident.

He also revealed that the soldiers ran away with the rifles of the policemen after perpetrating the crime.

The incident has raised concerns about the need for better coordination between security agencies in the state.

There have been reports of clashes between the police and the military in the past, leading to calls for improved communication and collaboration between the two agencies.

Usman said, “The state Commissioner of Police, Yusuf Suleiman, and the Commander 6 Brigade, Brig. Gen. Frank Etim, have met, discussed and agreed that a commission of enquiry be set up to look into the cause of this incident.

“The soldiers shot two police personnel and went away with their rifles. Some proceeded to the command headquarters with guns and shot sporadically in the air, and one police officer who was going off duty was shot and killed instantly.

“Another who was just reporting for duty and did not even know what was happening was also shot the moment they identified him as a policeman.

“As we speak, we have gotten reports that our men who are escorting election results or on various duties are being stopped at military checkpoints and harassed.”

In other news, two hostages, Olivier Dubois, a French journalist, and Jeffery Woodke, an American aid worker, who were kidnapped by armed groups in the Sahel region of Africa have been freed after years in captivity.

The pair arrived at the airport in Niamey, Niger, on Monday. Niger’s Interior Minister Hamadou Adamou Souley stated that their release came after several months of efforts by Nigerien authorities to free them from the hands of JNIM, a West Africa-based affiliate of al-Qaeda.

The circumstances of the two men’s release were not immediately clear, and a senior US official said there were no direct negotiations with the armed group that held Woodke, and no ransom or quid pro quo was part of his release.