At least four police officers and a 40-year-old hunter, Atom Abua, were killed in coordinated attacks by suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in Borno State on April 4. ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, Police Public Relations Officer in Borno, confirmed the attacks occurred at about 1am at the Nganzai Divisional Police Headquarters and at 2:40am at Malam Fatori IDP Camp in Damasak, Mobbar Local Government Area. The attackers used Rocket-Propelled Grenades and other weapons, damaging part of the police station and partially burning an unserviceable Armoured Personnel Carrier.
Security forces, including the Police Mobile Force and Crack Squad, engaged the assailants in a fierce gun battle, repelling the attacks in Nganzai and Damasak. At the IDP camp, the terrorists targeted a CJTF/Hunters post, killing Atom Abua and destroying about 20 thatched houses. Joint response teams comprising police, military, CJTF members, and local hunters prevented further damage. Commissioner of Police CP Naziru Abdulmajid has deployed additional personnel and equipment to the areas and praised the officers' bravery. He expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice. The public is urged to remain vigilant and provide credible intelligence.
Five lives lost in a single night, and CP Naziru Abdulmajid's response is more deployments and praise—familiar gestures in a conflict that has worn the same script for over a decade. The destruction of 20 homes and the death of Atom Abua, a named hunter doing frontline duty, show how much civilian blood is still being shed in gaps the state cannot or will not fill. This attack proves once again that static police posts in Borno remain vulnerable, despite years of military presence. Nigerians in the northeast are not waiting for condolences—they are waiting for results.
