Nigeria officers killed in armed men attack

Two Nigerian police officers have been killed and another injured after armed men attacked a police station in Ga’anda village in the country’s northeastern state of Adamawa.

“The heavily armed gunmen headed to the police station (on Wednesday night) and burnt it down using IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and RPG (rocket-propelled grenades) before engaging our men in a shootout in which we lost two officers while a third sustained gunshot wounds,” Adamawa state police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim said on Thursday.

“The attackers have escaped to Borno State. You know the place is bordering Borno State,” he added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly raid, but Nigerian officials lay the blame on Boko Haram militants who have carried out similar attacks in the past.

On May 15, the Nigerian army launched an offensive against Boko Haram, a day after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the three northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.

“I hereby declare a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states,” Jonathan said.

“What we are facing is not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency … which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity,” he added.

Boko Haram — whose name means “Western education is forbidden” — says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.

The group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.

Over the past four years, violence in the north of Africa’s most populous country has claimed the lives of 3,600 people, including killings by the security forces.