Suspected terrorists laid siege to the town of Potiskum in Yobe State and killed the Divisional Police Officer, Mr Mohammed Garba.
The gunmen, using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) also set ablaze a branch of Unity Bank, telecommunication masts belonging to MTN, Etisalat and Airtel, as well as a police station.
Thirteen of the terrorists were also said to have been killed by the Joint Task Force in an ensuing gun battle.
An unconfirmed report also has it that there was an attempt on the palace of the Emir of Fika, Alhaji Mohammed Idrissa ibn Amale, by the terrorists, but it was foiled by the JTF stationed at the palace.
It was gathered that yesterday’s attack, which took place around 2am, had the terrorists laying siege to the Unity Bank branch, police station and telecoms masts. There was then exchange of gunfire between them and the JTF, which left the DPO and 13 terrorists dead.
The JTF spokesperson in the state, Lt. Eli Lazarus gave confirmation of this incident to newsmen.
He said, “We repelled the attack and succeeded in killing 13 of the suspects. Three dead bodies of the suspects were recovered on the streets of Potiskum by the JTF, while some of the terrorists succeeded in carrying away 10 of the other dead bodies of their colleagues and escaped through the bush.”
He added that the JTF had already moved swiftly to arrest the fleeing suspects, and that the entire town had been cordoned off to prevent further attacks and killings.