Two policemen shot dead by Soldiers in Taraba

Two police officers attached to the Taraba State Command have been reportedly shot dead by soldiers in Jalingo, the State capital.

Two other officers were wounded and receiving treatment from gunshot wounds following a scuffle with men of the Nigerian Army on Monday.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer for the Command, Abdullahi Usman, trouble started when a female police officer, who was reporting for duty at the INEC State headquarters in Jalingo, was stopped by a military man at a checkpoint close to the headquarters and asked for proper identification.

The misunderstanding that ensued was settled, and the female police officer proceeded to the Collation Centre, only for the soldier to go after her and drag her out forcefully, leading to pandemonium.

The PPRO said, “A very ugly incident happened this morning around 8:30am between a female police officer and a soldier. After the initial misunderstanding, the lady was allowed to proceed to her duty post, but later the soldier went back to drag her out. The thing is that he called for reinforcement from his office, and when it arrived, he had nothing to report and decided to create a situation.

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“While we were trying to settle things and I was personally taken to one of the senior soldiers there, the soldiers suddenly started shooting. We were caught in the crossfire and had to run for our dear lives. The soldiers proceeded to the Command Headquarters here and shot two police officers, and went away with their riffles.

“One police officer who was going off duty was shot and killed instantly while 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. They strip them naked and harass them even though they know nothing about what happened.

“For now, the Commissioner of Police,Yusuf A. Suleiman, and the Commander of 6 Brigade Jalingo have met and discussed and have agreed that a commission of enquiry will be set up to look into the real cause of this incident.”