About 20 gunmen have attacked a police station in Adamawa state, killing two policemen and wounding two others.

The Adamawa state police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim says that the attackers used sophisticated equipment, including rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices, to overpower the police.

Residents say they were surprised by the attack that came as the area was under a state of emergency.

They said that the attackers started shooting to scare people as they engaged the policemen on duty.