Armed men kill four police officers in north Nigeria

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.