More facts emerged yesterday on what actually transpired at the headquarters of the Department of State Security (DSS) in Abuja on Sunday.
A military source who gave a blow by blow account of the incident recalled how the gun duel between Boko Haram detainees and the operatives left over eight personnel dead before soldiers from the Guards Brigade rushed to the scene to stop the terrorists from killing more security officers.
According to the source, the Boko Haram suspects had after hitting the officer that had gone into the cell with their food, disarmed him and killed him on the spot.
After killing the security officer, they locked his body inside the cell and started shooting and killing the other personnel at sight and dispossessing them of their weapons with which they used to attack and kill other personnel on duty.
It was when other security personnel on duty noticed what was happening that they too began to return fire by which time the terrorists group who had killed some DSS men, headed towards the gate to escape.
The initial gunshot, according to military sources, automatically attracted the attention of soldiers from the Guards Brigade who immediately deployed troops to the scene.
It was gathered that a detachment of soldiers who were stationed at the Eagle Square and ready to be deployed in the North-East, were the first to be moved to the DSS headquarters to confront the terrorists.
The Commanding Officer in charge of 7 Guards Battalion, Lt-Colonel Okoro, who also deployed his troops to the scene, however, called for reinforcement from the Army Headquarters Garrison, when he saw the situation on ground.
The Army Headquarters Garrison, immediately deployed another detachment of soldiers to the scene. To adequately battle the terrorists and ensure they do not escape, the soldiers ordered that all the gates in the premises be locked as they stormed inside and made sure none of the detainees escaped.
The exchange of gunfire between the soldiers and the terrorists, according to the military source, lasted for over two hours.
The sources debunked the allegation that the terrorists stormed the DSS headquarters to attack. Rather, the source said “the terrorists used the weapons they allegedly seized from the DSS officials they killed to carry out their attack.
“So it is wrong for anybody to say that the terrorists stormed the facility to free their detained colleagues like they did at the Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri”.
Military and top security sources who spoke to Daily Sun decried the situation where a large number of such high profile terror suspects would be kept in such a vulnerable location.
They said that even during the military regime, high profile suspects were usually kept at various detention facilities outside Abuja, not to talk of keeping them close to the seat of power because they know that anything can happen.
The Sunday attack, according to sources, may result to the relocation of the DSS headquarters from its present location at the Three Arms Zone to else where in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Source: Sun
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