Gunmen attack military checkpoint in Niger

Gunmen have reportedly attacked a military checkpoint in Madalla area of Suleja LGA, Niger state.

Jibril Bisallah, information officer of Suleja LGA, said the gunmen attacked soldiers of the guards brigade near Zuma rock.

He, however, said there was no confirmation yet on the number of casualties from the attack which occurred on Thursday.

“Actually, it happened. You know there is a military checkpoint directly at the Zuma rock area. That was where the attack happened yesterday. The military that was at the checkpoint is under the guards brigade. They are under the 102 battalion of Zuma barracks,” he told TheCable.

“Of course, there were casualties but I could not confirm the number. From the report I got yesterday, there were casualties from the military but we could not ascertain if there were casualties among the attackers.”

Also speaking on the attack, Muhammad Abdullahi, spokesperson to the chairman of Suleja LGA, said the gunmen attacked in large numbers and shot sporadically.

According to him, his friend, who was around the area during the attack, said the attackers killed two military operatives.

“Yes, actually there was an attack. My friend who witnessed it said his car broke down around the Zuma rock area, where the gunmen invaded. While he was trying to get a mechanic to fix his car, he said he saw armed men in large numbers with guns and they were shooting sporadically. He said he had to quickly run for his life,” the spokesman said.

“He also said he saw some of them (gunmen) going towards Madalla from Suleja. He said two soldiers were killed, but could not verify if other persons were killed because he was running for his life.”

Kabir Abdulkadir, a resident of Suleja, said military reinforcement was deployed from Zuma barracks to the area of the attack, but they arrived late.

“Yes, the attack happened on Thursday evening. I understand there was a military reinforcement sent to the area but the officers arrived the area late,” he said.

“The attack happened around the military checkpoint towards the Zuma barracks but the reinforcement came from Zuma barracks.”

Efforts to reach Onyema Nwachukwu, army spokesperson, were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the development comes days after an attack on the presidential guard troops of the 7 battalion in the federal capital territory (FCT).

Speaking on the attack which occurred on July 24, Babagana Monguno, national security adviser (NSA), had said “troops were decimated”.