20 Boko Haram suspects killed in Abuja DSS attack

20 Boko Haram suspects killed in Abuja DSS attack

…security beefed up around Presidential Villa, Abuja
By Soni Daniel
No fewer than 20 Boko Haram detainees have been
shot dead in a shoutout that ensued this morning at
the Department of State Security Service in the
Asokoro a district of Abuja.
Vanguard learnt that the shoutout erupted when
some of the suspected terrorists attempted to free
their members and leave the detention facility,
which is by the precincts of the Presidential Villa.
Trouble started around 6am during the normal
handing over and taking over of duties by DSS
detainees’ handlers.
A competent source said that as soon as one
handlers opened the gate leading to the cell where
the detainees were being kept, ten suspected
terrorists rushed out, snatched the handler’s rifle
and used it to shoot him.
Seeing the attack, some DSS handlers are reported
to have retreated so as not to be killed by the
rampaging suspected terrorists.
The source said after shooting the first handler, the
ten suspected terrorists began to escape into
different locations within the massive security
compound.
Alarmed by the effrontery of the suspected
terrorists, the DSS quickly deployed its men to quell
the uprising, resulting in heavy shooting that
claimed the lives of some of the suspects.
Many DSS operatives and Boko Haram detainees
were also injured in the ensuing stampede.
The shot DSS operative, whose name could not be
immediately ascertained, was immediately rushed
to an undisclosed hospital. A source said the shot
operative was in a fatal state but had not died.
It was learnt that the DSS, which is highly
embarrassed by the incident, had begun
investigation into why the detainees handler decided
to go and open the cell gate alone without being
accompanied by others, as is the standard practice.
“The whole episode occurred around 6:30 am and
7am on Sunday during the normal handing over and
takeover of detainees.
“The standard rule is that you cannot go alone to
open the gate leading to the detainees’ cell but as
soon as the man opened the gate, he was attacked
and he tried to run away and was shot.
“The shot operative has been taken to hospital,” the
source said.
The uprising led to the deployment of soldiers to the
DSS headquarters and around the Presidential Villa.
Commuters and vehicles passing through the Aso a
Drive, were searched by armed soldiers and DSS
operatives.
Marylyn Ogar, the Spokeswoman for the DSS,
confirmed the attempted jailbreak, which she said
had been stalled by security agents.
She said, “What happened was that the suspects’
handlers went to feed the detainees here but
suddenly they attacked him with their handcuffs,
disarmed him and started shooting.
“The military was quickly called in before they could
do any harm and that is responsible for the
shootings you heard.
“It was an attempted jailbreak but it has been
brought under control.”