THE Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has dismissed reports that the attack, which claimed the lives of five police officers on Saturday in the state, was carried out by bandits.
News Point Nigeria reports that the governor, who made the clarification on Wednesday during the State Executive Council meeting in Bauchi, insisted instead that it was a communal dispute.
“We had an incident in Darazo, but it was not banditry as reported. It is a community issue, and we will handle it with the police and the DSS,” he said.
His statement contradicted an earlier statement issued by the state police command that five police officers were killed by suspected herders in the Darazo area of the state.
“For security reasons, I won’t divulge all the information,” Governor Mohammed added.
The governor, however, confirmed that security agencies had provided intelligence on a possible school abduction, which led to the temporary closure of schools in the state.
He clarified that the closure was unrelated to the incident that resulted in the deaths of the police officers.
“Yes, we closed our schools because we were asked to do so by security agencies. They had more information than us.
“Even though I am the chief security officer, I don’t have the personnel. They told us there was a likelihood of abduction of our students, as has been the practice,” he said.
He stressed that the school closure was a proactive measure and not intended to cause panic.
The governor also revealed plans to fence all schools, especially those considered vulnerable or located in hard-to-reach areas, before the end of the year, in addition to recruiting vigilantes to fully implement the Safe School Initiative.
Mohammed, however, sympathised with states recently affected by abductions.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Bauchi Command, CSP Ahmed Wakil, had in the statement said, “It’s confirmed that our officers and men on routine patrol in Papa Ward of Darazo Local Government Area were ambushed by some herders.
“There were casualties during a dual exchange of gunfire between our personnel and the herders. Some of our officers have paid the supreme price.”