Kogi state in Central Nigeria appears to be under siege as gunmen yesterday attacked men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) guarding Okene Central Mosque and killed two soldiers attached to the team.
The fresh attack come 24 hours after worshippers at Deeper Life Church, Otite in Okehi Local Government of Kogi State, were attacked by suspected terrorists killing 15 persons, while another victim died in the hospital.
Ironically all these happened barely 48 hours after the Kogi State Police Command said it arrested 17 gunmen and recovered 35 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as well as other arms and ammunition in Okene town of the state.
Parading the suspects arrested at various operations in Lokoja over the weekend, the state police commissioner, Muhammed Musa Katsina, said the explosives were recovered from a vehicle of suspected armed robbers while attempting to raid a filling station in the area.
As the town was struggling to recover from the hangover of Monday’s attack, some gunmen hit the Central Mosque, shooting dead four people, including two soldiers, bringing the death toll to twenty.
Sources said that the gunmen that carried out yesterdays invasion came to the premises of the mosque in a white Hilux Jeep trying to force their way into the mosque where Muslim faithful had gathered for their Tafsir prayer, opened fire and killed two soldiers.
The Military men, who were stationed at the Central Mosque returned fire and killed two of the gunmen before the rest escaped.
Kogi State Police Commissioner, Mr. Muhammed Katsina, who confirmed the incident, said that operatives of the command were on the trail of the gunmen.
