Two police officers have been killed and two others injured after gunmen attacked the Divisional Police Headquarters in Zonkwa, Zango-Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Friday night.
During the assault, the attackers freed several inmates held at the station. The incident occurred shortly after the police arrested suspects accused of vandalising a transformer in Ramai, a community located about five kilometres from Zonkwa town, the headquarters of Zango-Kataf LGA.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers, believed to have come from Kachia town in Kachia LGA, stormed the Zonkwa Divisional Headquarters thinking their captured accomplices were being detained there.
While several inmates were released during the raid, none of the transformer vandalism suspects were freed, as they were being held in a separate security facility.
A joint team of police officers, Civil Defence Corps personnel, vigilante members, local hunters, and community volunteers eventually repelled the gunmen after an intense exchange of gunfire that lasted several hours.
An eyewitness revealed that a female police officer initially thought to have been kidnapped was later found safe, explaining that she fled during the chaos to save her life.
“I confirmed from reliable sources that no police officer was kidnapped and no weapons were seized. Only one officer’s mobile phone was taken. Those who went into hiding during the assault were mistakenly assumed to have been abducted,” the source said.
The attackers reportedly overpowered officers on duty while attempting to rescue their colleagues arrested for vandalising the transformer in Ramai earlier in the week.
Further reports indicated that the suspects apprehended by community youths in Ramai on 16 October 2025 were being held by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), suggesting that the gunmen targeted the wrong location.
Efforts to contact the Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna State Police Command were still ongoing at the time of filing this report.