By Terna Chikpa, Jalingo
Military men posted to INEC head office in Jalingo, the venue of the governorship election collation centre, have shot and killed two police officers in what is said was a common misunderstanding between a woman police and a soldier.
The state police public relations officer, Usman Abdullahi, confirmed the incident and also said two police officers and a soldier were also shut in the incident and are currently receiving treatment in a hospital. At the same time, two other police were also disarmed and tripped and necked by the military when the soldiers later invaded the police headquarters.
According to the PPRO, the situation started when a female police officer 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.
He said the scuffle was settled, and the female police officer proceeded to the Collation centre, only for the military man to go back and drag her out forcefully, leading to a quick escalation of mayhem.
“A very ugly incident happened this morning around 8:30 am between a female police officer and a soldier. After the initial misunderstanding, the lady was allowed to proceed to her duty post, but later the soldier dragged her out. He called for reinforcement from his office, and when it arrived, he had nothing to report and decided to create a situation.
“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 dear lives. The soldiers proceeded to the command headquarters here and shot two police officers, and went away with their riffles.
“One police officer 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 when they identified him as a policeman.
“As we speak, we have gotten reports that our men escorting election results in various duties have been stopped at military checkpoints and harassed. They strip them naked and harass them even though they know nothing about what happened.
“For now, the commissioner of police CP Yusuf A. Suleiman and the commander of 6 Brigade Jalingo have met and discussed and have agreed that a commission of enquiry will be set up to look into the real cause of this incident”.
Nigerian Tribune reports that the situation has led to serious tension in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, after over one hour of the gun duel between the two security agencies.
Meanwhile, the collation of the Governorship election scheduled to resume by 11:30 am this morning has been postponed indefinitely.
