One soldier, one State Security Service (SSS) personnel and nine gunmen were killed in a clash between security agents and gunmen suspected to be members of the Islamic sect Boko Haram in Okene in Nigeria’s central Kogi state this weekend, the local media reported Sunday. The report said three SSS officials were also injured in the clash, which occurred between Friday night and Saturday morning as the security agents descended on the hideout of the gunmen.
The security agencies decided to act after an unnamed group wrote to banks in the area to inform them of impending attacks.
But the gunmen apparently ambushed the security agents as they trailed them to their hideout, leading to the high casualty on their side.
The Brigade Commander in-charge of Chari Maigugeri Barracks in the Kogi state capital, Lokoja, Maj.-Gen. Alphonsus Chukwu, told newsmen that items recovered from the hideout of the hoodlums included hand grenade, two pistols, Improvised Explosive Devices and five AK 47 magazines.
Kogi state has increasingly come under attack from suspected Boko Haram members in recent times.
In February, gunmen attacked the Koton-Karfi prison in the state and freed 119 inmates. Several banks in the state have also been attacked.
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