JUST IN: Gunmen Raid Adamawa Village, Raze Church, LG Secretariat

Unknown gunmen riding on motorcycles on Thursday morning launched coordinated attacks on the Song Local Government Council secretariat in Adamawa State together with a police station in the area.

The attacks, according to Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Muhammed Ibrahim, claimed five lives, including that of a two-year-old infant who was allegedly hit by a stray bullet.

It was also gathered that one soldier and two policemen were killed in the attack that saw the hoodlums also burning down both the council secretariat and the Song Police Station.

The PPRO added that several persons were injured, and that those affected were rushed to the hospital.

Asked about the chances of survival of the injured, Ibrahim said: “I think they will make it because the degree of the injuries for some is not much. But any further development in that regards would be communicated as usual.”

The attacks and destruction of lives and properties seem to be concentrated of late in Adamawa State.

Authorities of the military, State Security Service (SSS) and police recently blamed the extremist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, for more than 750 deaths, some of them security personnel in 2012.

The terrorists have bombed churches, schools, government offices, security forces, media houses, market places and communication infrastructure.

A report from the Joint Task Force (JTF) to the military high command indicated that the service lost 97 soldiers in the on-going operation restore order mostly in Borno State.

“The military lost five of its personnel in Kano, three in Bauchi and Yobe respectively. The remaining is scattered across the affected states where the sect reign supreme,” the JTF said.s

The report which is the joint effort of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the State Security Service (SSS) also said the police force lost 27 of its personnel in 2012 to the Boko Haram insurgency.

“The group’s methods of operation are becoming more and more sophisticated and gruesome,” said a senior police officer in the intelligence department at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Early in 2012, there were coordinated bombings of government and security offices in Kano which killed nearly 200 people in a single day.

More recently, in a northern college town, the terrorists went from door to door, interviewing individuals and executing dozens who gave the wrong answers.

Boko Haram has also stoked ethnic tensions and ruined the economies of several cities.