Gunmen Kill Nigerian Cop In Yobe State

Gunmen have shot dead a Nigerian policeman at his home in Damaturu, Yobe state, the AFP has reported.

It was an apparent targeted killing, police said Tuesday, in an incident similar to dozens of other murders blamed on an Islamist sect, the Boko Haram. On Sunday, in neighbouring Mauduguri, gunmen belonging to the sect also killed a cameraman working for the government owned NTA.

The policeman was killed by two motorcycle-riding gunmen who knocked on his door in Damaturu, Monday, state police commissioner Sulaimon Lawal told AFP.

“The assailants shot him as soon as he answered the door and took off on their motorcycle,” he said.

“It was a clear case of a targetted killing because the compound the policeman was living in houses eight other policemen, but the killers singled him out.”

Lawal could not say who was behind the killing and no arrest had been made.

The Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of bombings and shootings, often targeting police and soldiers. Most of the violence has occurred in the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

The sect also claimed responsibility for the August 26 bomb blast at UN headquarters in Abuja that killed at least 24 people.