Boko Haram Militants Burn Maiduguri Police Station

Hafiz Ringim, Inspector General of Police.

Hafiz Ringim, Inspector General of Police.

A police station in Maiduguri capital of Borno State has been destroyed in an attack  blamed on the Boko Haram Islamic sect, the BBC reported this afternoon.

Hafiz Ringim, Inspector General of Police.

One policeman was injured by gunmen who shot at the entrance before an explosion inside  injured another policeman and woman.

At least 16 people, mostly police officers, have been killed in the city in the past two  months.

Clashes between Boko Haram and the police in July 2009 left hundreds dead.

The BBC’s Bilkisu Babangida in Maiduguri says the attack follows the killing on Saturday  of an Islamic scholar.

He was believed to have been preaching against the sect, which is opposed to Western  education and accuses Nigeria’s government of being corrupted by Western ideas.

Our correspondent says the attack on Monday night happened at about 2130 local time.

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Police say a locally made Molotov cocktail exploded inside the police station.

Most of those killed in the recent assassinations have been shot by people riding  motorbikes.

In a bid to reduce the killings, motorbikes have been banned at night but the shooting  have continued.

Hundreds of people suspected of being Boko Haram members escaped from prison in September  after gunmen attacked the jail where they were being held in the city.

Last year’s violence started when Boko Haram members attacked a police station in  Maiduguri before clashes spread to neighbouring areas.

Most of those who died were supporters of the sect, which is also known locally as the  Taliban and wants to see Islamic law imposed across Nigeria.

The sect’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was among those killed, apparently after he was handed  over alive to the police.

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