•Chad, Niger troops fight Boko Haram
•Borno plans task force
More deaths have been recorded in Saturday’s multiple attacks on Maiduguri, the beleaguered Borno State capital.
Reports, which put the toll at 62 – it was 58 initially – said many people had been hospitalised.
A woman attendant at the Specialist Hospital, who preferred anonymity, told our correspondent that “due to the gravity of the injuries of some victims brought to the hospital and coupled with the loss of blood by them, three could not make it overnight, two died this morning before medical routine checks by the doctor on duty and one is in a critical state”.
Many have been discharged after treatment, she said.
The attendant hailed the government’s standing order on free treatment of Boko Haram victims, saying it has helped victims.
As part of measures to tighten security in Maiduguri and its environs Governor Kashim Shettima is to set up a Multi-Faith and
Ethnic Task Force (MFET).
The measure is to review security surveillance in and around public places, such as markets, bus termini and other places to safeguard lives and property.
The task force will not only enhance security, but will assist the government rebuild the reclaimed towns and communities by the military in the 21 local governments.
The setting up of MFET was contained in a statement by the governor’s media aide, Isa Umar Gusau, which was given to reporters in Maiduguri yesterday.
The statement reads: “The Multi Faith and Multi Ethnic Task Force will be saddled with the responsibility of evaluating the communities liberated from insurgents, to come up with urgent steps towards reconstructing houses and public infrastructure, such as water supply infrastructure, hospitals, schools, markets and others.
“This task force, which is to work with security agencies, will ensure that liberated communities are certified safe and habitable for occupation by displaced persons.”
Shettima urged the people to be calm, security conscious and report suspicious persons and movements to security agencies and youth volunteers.
Forces from Niger and Chad have launched a ground and air offensive against militant group Boko Haram in Borno State, officials said yesterday
The troops intensified a regional offensive designed to defeat the Islamic group, military sources said.
It is the first incursion deep into Nigeria by troops from Niger, which has so far only fought Boko Haram in the border area. Chad has already sent troops many kilometres inside northeastern Nigeria and has won territory back from the Sunni jihadist group near the Nigeria-Cameroon border.
“We can confirm that Chadian and Nigerien forces launched an offensive this morning from Niger. The offensive is underway,” said Colonel Azem Bermandoa, spokesman for Chad’s army.
Niger military sources said troops were attacking militants from the Islamist group in Borno State, having entered via the country’s southeastern region near Diffa.
One of the sources said the Federal Government had given the green light for the operation. It was not clear how many troops were participating in the offensive, which came as Nigerian officials dismissed Boko Haram’s pledge of allegiance to Islamic State as a reaction to the military pressure from Nigeria and its allies.
The pledge was posted online on Saturday in an audio message by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.
He called on Muslims everywhere to swear loyalty to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Boko Haram has been fighting an insurgency to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria since 2009, and in recent months the violence has increasingly spilled over into neighbouring states.
Chad, Cameroon and Niger have already been helping Nigeria in its battle against Boko Haram. On Friday, the African Union endorsed the creation of a regional force of more than 8,000 troops to combat the group.
As the latest offensive began early yesterday, a resident and an aid worker told AFP news agency there had been heavy arms fire close to Niger’s border with Nigeria. A local radio station reported that a convoy of more than 200 vehicles was moving towards the area.
The Nigerian military and troops from neighbouring states have recently claimed some success in their campaign against Boko Haram, and Nigerian officials said the pledge of allegiance to IS was a sign of weakness.
Col. Kukasheka said the Boko Haram leader was like a “drowning man”.
“There is no surprise that he is craving for support from fellow terrorists across the world,” he told the BBC World Service.
“Basically, he’s just trying to create panic to create a plea for help that will not even come because very soon we will see to the end of the insurgency in Nigeria.”
The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), who is the coordinator of security spokespersons, Mr. Mike Omeri, said Boko Haram needed help “as a result of the heavy casualties and bombardment and degrading of their capacity”.
However, militants have continued to launch deadly attacks. On Saturday, Boko Haram was blamed for a series of attacks in its former stronghold of Maiduguri, including suicide bombings that left more than 50 people dead.
Col. Kukasheka called on Nigerians “to be more security conscious because given the onslaught on Boko Haram, definitely they are bound to spring surprises”.
IS took control of large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq last year.
It has forged links with other militant groups across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and in January, militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan pledged their allegiance.
