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* IG presents N14.6m cheques to families of slain officers
Francis Sardauna in Katsina
Five policemen and three civilians have been killed and many others injured by gunmen suspected to be terrorists in a fresh attack on Gatigawa village in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident to journalists Thursday, said the slain policemen were on special duty in Katsina State from Kano.
He explained that the policemen were killed by the suspected terrorists alongside three civilians while repelling attack on Gatigawa village at about 6:45pm on Wednesday.
Isah, a superintendent of police, said: “The terrorists were over three hundred (300) and they were fully armed. The five policemen are from Kano State and they were on special duty at Gatikawa.The terrorists attacked them at 6.45 p.m.
“The terrorists also killed three civilians. Investigation is already in progress over the matter by the Katsina State police Command to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
A resident of the area, Kabir Tukur, told THISDAY that the terrorists also left many residents with varying degree of injuries and rustled unspecified numbers of animals belonging to members of the community.
He said: “How some of us escaped to a safer area yesterday (Wednesday) is still like a miracle to us. We could see and hear bullets hitting buildings. They injured many people during the attack and rustled some animals.”
He added that those who sustained injuries during the invasion were rushed to hospitals by security personnel, just as the military positioned its vehicles with heavily armed personnel in the area in the early hours of Thursday.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Idrisu Dabban Dauda, has presented N14.6 million cheques to families of 18 deceased police officers who died in active service in the state.
Dauda, represented by DCP Baffa Magaji Jahun, said the gesture was part of the Inspector General of Police’s (IG) Family Welfare Insurance Scheme being given to families of deceased police officers across the country.
He thanked the IG, Usman Alkali Baba, for improving the welfare of the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force and urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money for their betterment.
