Unknown gunmen shot and killed two officers of the Nigerian police Force in Niger state at the Wushishi housing estate on Thursday.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen were on a motor bike and closely followed by a Toyota saloon car.
Niger state police spokesman, Richard Ogunche confirmed that the shooting occurred in Minna, the capital of Niger state. He noted that the gunmen had refused to stop at a police checkpoint and opened fire, also wounding another officer on duty there. He added that an investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack but it is suspected that members of the dreaded Boko-haram sect shot the policemen.The shooting happened a day after the radical sect known as Boko Haram orchestrated a prison break in neighboring Kogi state, freeing 119 inmates. This is the first attack in Niger state since the imposition of a state of emergency by the federal government on some parts of the state and the first in Minna, the state capital.
Residents of the estate are still trying to come to terms with the attack. But the state commissioner for information and strategy, Alhaji Abdulahi Danlami assured the residents that the state government will work with security agencies to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice.
The state police commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Maishanu was not immediately available for comment but the police public relations officer in the state, Mr. Richard Ogunche told channels television on telephone that the command will leave no stone to bring the perpetrators to book.
