The insecurity in Nigeria on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, assumed a frightening dimension with separate attacks on different government institutions and officials including officials working with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The attack on a presidential convoy led to at least two injuries, according to the official narrative, while the main prison in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, was also attacked.
Also, two police officers were killed in the same Katsina State where the attack on the president’s convoy took place. Another senior police officer was also killed in a separate state.
The killing of the police officers adds to the over 40 security personnel killed by non-state actors last week in the country.
Yesterday’s attacks have been highlighted by some observers as a major need for concern in an already troubled country.
“In the past 24 hours in Nigeria, suspected armed bandits kidnapped a Chinese national in Kwara; attacked the advanced convoy of President Buhari in Katsina; and launched a raid on the Kuje prison in Abuja. These actors could play a defining role in the February 2023 elections,” Ryan Cummings, a security analyst, wrote on Twitter.
In the past 24 hours in Nigeria, suspected armed bandits kidnapped a Chinese national in Kwara; attacked the advanced convoy of President Buhari in Katsina; and launched a raid on the Kuje prison in Abuja. These actors could play a defining role in the February 2023 elections
— Ryan Cummings (@Pol_Sec_Analyst) July 6, 2022
As of the time of this report, apart from confirming the attack on the presidential convoy, the presidency has yet to speak on the other attacks.
Some attacks that happened in Nigeria on July 5, 2022
Gunmen on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, attacked an ‘advance team’ of presidential aides leading to injuries to two people, a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, confirmed.
Mr Shehu, who described the shooting incident as ‘sad’, said the attack occurred “near Dutsinma, Katsina State, at the convoy of cars carrying the Advance Team of security guards, protocol and media officers ahead of the President, Muhammadu Buhari’s trip to Daura for Sallah.”
Mr Buhari hails from Daura, Katsina State, North-west Nigeria.
Police Commissioner killed in ambush
In the same state, armed persons also killed the area commander of the Dutsin Ma Police Area command, Aminu Umar, in an ambush on Tuesday morning.
Mr Umar, an assistant police commissioner, was killed alongside one other officer.
Family sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the body of Mr Umar was handed over to his relatives in his home town in Dabai, Daja Local Government Area of Katsina State, on Wednesday morning for burial.
Abuja Correctional Centre attacked
In the Nigerian capital, Abuja, the Kuje Custodial Centre was attacked late Tuesday night despite an earlier warning by the country’s intelligence service.
While confirming the incident on Wednesday, the spokesperson of the agency, Abubakar Umar, said the attack was repelled but did not give specific details as to how many prisoners escaped and the number of officers affected.
Many inmates are believed to have escaped during the attack.
Police Inspector killed in Kwara
In Kwara State, the police confirmed the killing of a police inspector, Adebayo Adeforiti, and the abduction of a Chinese national by some gunmen at CGC construction company along Shao/Oloru Expressway.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Kwara police spokesman, Okasanmi Ajayi, on Tuesday in Ilorin, the state capital.
