From Edwin Olofu & Bala Nasir, Kano
The Joint Military Task Force in Kano has arrested four suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect after a gun duel with the sect members in Hotoro area of the ancient city.
The sect members who were heavily armed with guns and can- made explosives attacked JTF from two directions, but the attack was repelled by the superior firepower of the JTF.
The source added that the gunmen fled running in different directions, but the JTF gave them a hot chase and apprehended some of them in a residence in Kawo area.
Assorted arms and ammunitions including locally made bombs were recovered by the JTF.
A police officer was said to have sustained injuries during the attack and is currently receiving treatment in a hospital in the state.
The spokesperson of the task force Lt. Ihedi Iweha Ikedichi confirmed the arrest of the four men suspected to be members of the sect, but declined to comment on number of casualties recovered in the area.
Residents said they heard gunshots in the wee hours of Wednesday as they were preparing to go for the early morning prayers that were followed with heavy sounds of explosion.
Aminu Ibrahim, a resident of Tishama said: “We were preparing for our prayers when we started hearing gunshots; initially we thought it was the normal warning shots that security agents used to fire. But in some few minutes we started hearing heavy sounds of explosion, I immediately asked members of my family to lie down. We remained like that for over one hour without knowing exactly what happened. It was later we discovered it was the security agents that engaged some people in a shootout.”
Our correspondent gathered reliably from a top security source that members of the sect attacked the JTF at a junction in Hotoro area where they have been stationed since the deadly attack on the January 20, 2012.
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