Security operatives at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, near Jos, killed a suspected assailant on Wednesday night as they beat back the latest NIPSS attack.
Gunmen tried to force their way into the institute at about 11pm. Guards on duty resisted them immediately, and gunfire broke out at the perimeter fence.
The Institute confirmed the incident in a statement on Thursday. Dr Osime Samuel, Head of Public Affairs at NIPSS, said the attackers exchanged fire with security personnel before being pushed back by what he called a swift and coordinated response.
One suspected assailant was killed in the encounter. The rest of the group fled into the surrounding area, and some reportedly carried injuries as they escaped.
NIPSS said its perimeter held. Officials confirmed that participants of the Senior Executive Course, staff, residents and facilities were all safe throughout the incident.
Dr Samuel reassured the public that protecting lives and property remains the Institute’s top priority. He added that security agencies have stepped up efforts to track down the attackers who got away, and that surveillance around the campus has been reinforced further following the latest NIPSS attack.
This is the third security scare at NIPSS in under three weeks, and the pattern points to a facility under sustained pressure.
The first NIPSS attack struck on the night of 15 June. Gunmen opened fire on guards at the main gate at around 11:40pm, and the fighting that followed left three security operatives dead, two soldiers and a policeman, according to the Plateau State Police Command. The Punch reported that the command’s spokesperson, SP Alfred Alabo, confirmed the deaths in a statement issued the following day, adding that patrols around the Institute had been intensified on the orders of the Commissioner of Police, Bassey Ewah.
That earlier NIPSS attack prompted a direct response from Abuja. Premium Times reported that President Bola Tinubu ordered the immediate and permanent reinforcement of security at the Institute, a directive delivered by Vice President Kashim Shettima during a visit to Kuru. NIPSS Director-General Ayo Omotayo described the assault as a reminder of how exposed critical national institutions remain, and he pushed for more personnel and surveillance equipment, including CCTV, around the campus.
A second attempt followed on 30 June. Daily Post reported that officers on duty spotted suspicious movement near the perimeter at around 1:30am and forced the intruders to retreat before any breach occurred. No casualties were recorded in that incident.
Wednesday’s NIPSS attack shows the threat has not eased despite the reinforcements ordered after June. NIPSS is Nigeria’s foremost policy think tank, training senior public officials, military officers and policymakers, and its repeated targeting has become a national security concern in its own right.
Analysts tracking the region say the frequency of the NIPSS attack pattern, three separate incidents inside a single month, suggests deliberate reconnaissance rather than random banditry. Kuru sits close to hills and bush terrain that has historically offered cover for armed groups operating around Jos South. Each NIPSS attack has followed a similar approach, testing the perimeter after dark and probing the gate before retreating once resistance builds.
Security analysts argue that this consistency points to attackers studying troop rotation and response times rather than opportunistic raids, which raises the stakes for an institution that trains the country’s top military, security and policy officials. Investigations into all three incidents remain ongoing. Security agencies have not disclosed a motive, and no group has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.
NIPSS management has urged the public and the media to rely on official statements rather than unverified claims circulating on social media, warning that speculation risks causing unnecessary panic around an already tense security situation in Plateau State following the recent NIPSS attack incidents.
