ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Two police officers have been killed, while two others sustained injuries during a night attack on the Divisional Police Headquarters in Zonkwa, Zango-Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The attack, which occurred around 9 p.m. on Friday, saw gunmen storm the police station by breaching unfenced perimeters and opening fire on officers on duty in a bid to free detained gang members.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers believed their gang members were being held at the divisional headquarters and launched the assault to rescue them.
According to reports, the gunmen also freed several inmates detained at the police station during the attack.
However, none of the suspects arrested for vandalizing a transformer in Ramai a community about five kilometers from Zonkwa town were freed, as they were reportedly being held at a separate security facility.
According to reports, the attackers, alleged to have come from Kachia town in Kachia LGA, may have targeted the wrong location.
“More information reaching me suggests that the suspected transformer vandals from Kachia LGA were apprehended by community youths in Ramai on 16 October 2025 and were in NSCDC custody. The gunmen apparently attacked the wrong location,” a source said.
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During the gun battle that lasted several hours, combined troops of the Civil Defence Corps, police officers, vigilante volunteers, local hunters, and community members repelled the attackers.
An eyewitness revealed that a female police officer, initially feared kidnapped, was later found safe.
“I just confirmed from an eyewitness and a credible source that none of the police officers was kidnapped and no weapons were seized.
Only one officer’s mobile phone was stolen. Officers who sought cover during the attack were mistakenly assumed to have been kidnapped by the gunmen,” the source added.
Confirming the incident, the spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Mansir Hassan, said two police officers on duty, DSP Monday Madaki and Inspector Bin Magaji, sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to the hospital, where doctors later confirmed their deaths.
He added that the gunmen fled immediately after the attack before a detachment of additional policemen and military personnel mobilized by the DPO of Zonkwa Division arrived at the scene.
DSP Hassan clarified that no firearms or inmates were taken by the attackers and that efforts have been intensified to apprehend the fleeing gunmen.
Meanwhile, the Senator representing Kaduna South, Sunday Marshall Katung, has condemned the attack on the Zonkwa Divisional Police Headquarters, describing it as senseless and deplorable.
In a statement personally signed by him, Katung said, “Such a criminal assault on the nation’s security agencies is wicked, barbaric, and reprehensible, and stands utterly condemned.”
While expressing deep sorrow over the deaths of the officers, the senator urged security agencies to deploy every available resource to bring the perpetrators to justice without delay.
The incident occurred just days after the arrest of suspects involved in transformer vandalism in Ramai community, sparking concerns over renewed attacks targeting security formations in southern Kaduna.