LAGOS, Feb 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Unidentified gunmen killed four police

officers in Nigeria's northeast Borno province, police said in a statement.

Police Commissioner Yusufu Mohammed Lawal "expresses heartfelt condolences to
the families of four gallant police officers who tragically lost their lives
while defending the Police Quarters in Gajiram Town," the statement said.

The attack took place just before midnight on Saturday.

In the same statement, the police also denied rumours circulating on social
media of an attack Saturday by Boko Haram or its rival jihadists the Islamic
State in West Africa (ISWAP) against police headquarters in Maiduguri, the
main city in Borno State.

"The State Command Headquarters in Maiduguri remains secure and operational,
with no incidents of attack reported," the police said.

"The public is strongly urged to dismiss the aforementioned misleading
information," the statement added.

For several years, the north and centre of Africa's most populous country has
been plagued by criminal gangs and jihadists who regularly carry out raids
and kidnap residents.

A jihadist insurgency that has been raging since 2009 has left more than
40,000 people dead and two million displaced, according to the UN.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took office last May making it a
priority to tackle the country's instability.