The Taraba State Police Command has reported that many people were killed in an early morning shootout between army and police officers in the state.
Usman Abdullahi, the Police Public Relations Officer, told media today at the State Police Command Headquarters in Jalingo, the state capital, that two officers were killed during the exchange of gunfire.
Abdullahi further stated that two members of the command suffered varying degrees of gunshot wounds and are now undergoing treatment at the Jalingo police clinic and the state specialized hospital.
The over-an-hour-long firing of bullets not only paralyzed commercial activity in Jalingo city, but also forced the Independent National Election Commission, INEC, to temporarily halt the state’s ongoing compilation of election results.
The PPRO, who claimed to have narrowly avoided being shot, expressed concern over the occurrence, noting that “a very unpleasant and tragic incident occurred this morning between the military and police.”
He said: “On my way to the office, I came across a scuffle between the military officers that mounted checkpoints on the entrance of the INEC office as it used to be when election results are being collated.”
According to him: “The situation 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 her proper identification.
“While we were trying to settle things, and I was personally talking 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 rifles.
“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 in various duties have been stopped at military checkpoints and harassed. They strip them naked and harass them even though they knew 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 inquiry will be set up to look into the real cause of this incident.”
