Tobias Sylvester
The Nigerian Army has killed at least two police officers during a confrontation at the police headquarters in Taraba State.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the State Command, SP Abdullahi Usman, who confirmed the incident, said two police officers were killed in a common misunderstanding between a policewoman and a soldier
According to him, the situation started when a female police officer 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 her proper identification.
Usman said the scuffle was settled, and the female police officer proceeded to the Collation centre, only for the military man to go back and drag her out forcefully, leading to a quick escalation of mayhem.
“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.
“While we were trying to settle things and I was personally talken 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 been 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 CP 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,” the PPRO stated.
It was gathered that the situation has led to serious tension in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, after over one hour of the gun duel between the two security agencies while collation of the State’s governorship election results, which was scheduled to resume by 11:30 am on Monday, had now been postponed.
This comes one month after the Nigerian Army reacted to the alleged killing of a newlywed soldier by a policeman in the Odogunyan area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
