A breakaway faction of terrorist group, Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has said its men attacked a police vehicle in Ondo State.
According to ISWAP in a statement, the attack which was carried out by “soldiers of the caliphate” occurred in Ipele, Owo Local Government Area of the state.
It claimed the fighters targeted an operational vehicle of the police with machine guns, which led to its damage. The group was however silent on if there was a casualty or not.
The attack if truly executed by ISWAP could be a hint that the terror group is making an incursion into the South Western part of Nigeria.
DAILY GIST reported how terrorists had attack the Catholic Church in Owo area of Ondo State, killing over 40 worshippers with many others injured.
Nigeria’s interior minister Rauf Aregbesola blamed the attack on ISWAP, but the claim was countered by Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu who said the government was too hasty in its conclusions.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, announced that the gunmen behind the attack on the church have been arrested.
DHQ spokesman Jimmy Akpor in a statement said two more suspected ISWAP fighters linked to the dastardly attack have been apprehended.
Akpor disclosed that the suspects were arrested through a combined operation by military and DSS personnel at Eika, Okehi LGA, Kogi State on 1 August 2022.
ISWAP had claimed expansion into Abuja, Kogi, and Taraba in the last six months.
In May 2022, the group said it was behind an explosion that rocked the ancient town, Kabba in the Kogi West Senatorial District.
Kabba is the headquarters of the Kabba/Bunnu LGA and the people speak a dialect of Yoruba called Owe.
The town is less than 10 minutes from Akunnu-Akoko and Ajowa-Akoko in Ondo State and less than 20 minutes from Omuo in Ekiti State.
The terrorists were said to have detonated explosives in the church after which they proceeded to fire shots at the congregation.
The Nigerian government swiftly said the attack was likely carried out by ISWAP but the state government said it had reservations about the claim.
Interior minister, Rauf Aregbesola, told journalists after a National Security Council meeting that “we have been able to locate the imprints of the perpetrators of that attack and from all indications, we are zeroing in on the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP).”
On August 9, Lucky Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff said gunmen behind the attack have been arrested.
