A police inspector on duty was killed when terrorists launched an improvised explosive device (IED) at a police station in Kogi Friday morning.

The police station is located at Eika-Ohizenyi, in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria.

A resident in the area, Abubakar Momoh, told Peoples Gazette that the brigands stormed the police post at about 2:15 a.m., shooting sporadic before detonating the bomb.

The policeman identified as Mr Jubril was killed in the process.

“The gunmen spent more than two hours inside the station operating freely without any interference from the security agencies”, Mr Momoh told the Gazette on phone.

Mr Abubakar added that the bullets from the sporadic gunshots shattered the windows of a mosque and a catholic church, near the police station, during the attack.

He hinted that the corpse of the slain policeman has been deposited at the morgue of Obangede General hospital, a town close to the area. 

Kogi State Police Spokesman, William Ovye-Aya, who earlier confirmed the attack, via a statement, stated that the police inspector killed in the attack exchanged fire with the assailants. 

“And before the Area Commander and a detachment of military could reinforce to the scene of the incident, the attackers had already fled,” Mr Ovye-Aya added.  

He said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Edward Egbuka, has visited the scene for assessment and equally ordered an investigation into the attack. 

“The CP also ordered the deployment of additional operational assets consisting of Operatives of the Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit, Quick Response Unit, State Intelligence Bureau in synergy with other security agencies to restore normalcy in the area”. 

In April, gunmen suspected to be terrorists attacked the police facility in Ogaminana, a community in Adavi Local Government Area (LGA) of the same Kogi state, killing three police officers on duty. 

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an offshoot, of Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The dreaded Islamic group has been claiming responsibility for several explosions in Kogi state and is believed to operating a sleeper cell in the state. 

No fewer than five dreaded attacks had occurred in Kogi state in the last two months, with ISWAP claiming responsibility for the carnage.