From Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse
A five man syndicate of criminals suspected to be bandits have reportedly ambushed a patrol team of the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) along Maigatari in Jigawa and Niger republic boarder, killing one officer and injuring two others.
Speaking to news men in Dutse the state capital, Jigawa state comptroller of Immigration, ACG Isma’ila Abba Aliyu said the incident occured at around 11:20 pm on Tuesday at the Galadi-Birniwa, a border village in Birniwa local government, northeast of Jigawa.
Aliyu explained that the bandits, who rode on two motorcycles took his men who were on routine patrol by surprise.
He said, the bandits arrived at their patrol base with one carrying three passengers while the other was carrying two passengers. “They sudenly upon arrival opened fire on the immigration staff on patrol, which resulted in the death of one of the staff while two others sustained serious bullet wounds.
He confirmed that apart from the three personnel, three other officers who were on the patrol in team managed to escape as they took shelter in a nearby forest till early morning 9n Wednesday.
“As result of heavy exchange of fire, the bandits fled into the bush and abandoned their motorcycles and a handset (Techno T5) belonging to the bandits were recovered and handed over to the state police command for further investigation.”
Aliyu, an Assistant Comptroller-General of Immigration confirmed that the bandits were citizens of Niger Republic, describing the village as the route being frequently used by bandits in recent past.
According to him, “I can confirm to you that the attackers were from Niger Republic because the village is less than two kilometers to Niger Republic and over 70 kilometers from Maigatari town in Jigawa state.
Despite the temporary setback the immigration chief reiterated the commitment of the service to continue to defend the territorial integrity of the country as he urged Jigawa residents to go about their normal businesses saying they are equal to the challenge.
He solicited their cooperation with the immigration at all times as the service strives to serve the people.