The Nation Newspaper

Tag: borno

  • Gunmen kill commissioner in Borno

    Gunmen kill commissioner in Borno

    •Council chair shot dead in Adamawa

     

    Fundamentalist sect Boko Haram yesterday intensified its killing spree, which started at the weekend.

    Two government officials were shot dead in Borno and Adamawa states.

    Former Comptroller  General of Prison Alhaji Ibrahim Jarma, shot on Monday by gunmen in front of a mosque in Azare, Bauchi State, died in the hospital yesterday.

    But the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Kano unveiled the arms and ammunition it claimed to have recovered from the sect’s members.

    It also shed more light on its raid on the sect, which led to the killing of a top shot and the arrest of two others.

    The Borno State Justice Ministry yesterday confirmed the killing of Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General Zanna Malam Gana.

    Gana was shot dead in his home town of Bama.

    On Monday, security sources said the JTF killed Abu Qaqa,  the sect’s spokesman and arrested two other senior members.

    There has been no response from the sect on the claim.

    Gunmen on Monday night shot dead the acting Chairman of Maiha Local Government Council of Adamawa State, Lawan Datti.

    Some residents of Kochifa Ward in Mubi town, where the incident took place, said the deceased was shot around 8p.m in his home, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

    “It is a very sad incident. We buried him this (Tuesday) afternoon,” said one of his neighbours, who preferred anonymity.

    Adamawa police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim confirmed the incident, but gave no details.

    “All I can tell you for now is that the incident took place on Monday night,” he said.

    Kano JTF Spokesman , Lt. Ikedichi Iweha said a planned attack by the terrorist group was foiled.

    In a statement, he said the attack was planned to wreak havoc on Kano people.

    “It has equally further depleted the capacity of the terrorist group to operate. The JTF would like to use this medium to reiterate its resolve to continue to work assiduously towards the protection of lives and property in the state. “

    “The relative peace, which Kano enjoys today, can be attributed to the collective effort and prayers of the good people of Kano State. The JTF continues to count on you for the provision of information as it assures you of the utmost confidentiality in dealing with such information.”

    “Residents are therefore enjoined to go about their normal lawful business activities without any fear, as security agents are ready and will respond swiftly to any threat to life and property in any part of the state.”

    Items recovered during the gun battle with the terrorists  at their heavily wired IED hideout, include: Two  AK-47 rifles, two Pump Action rifles, one Berretta rifle, one smoke discharger, 433 rounds of 7.62 Nato ammunition, 80 rounds of 7.62 special ammunition and 2 AK-47 magazines.

    Others are: 36 prepared IEDs, 13 laptops, two motorcycles, four printers, one photocopier, one 33 slots Zenith disc writer, one TG 3900Ez generator set, religious books, large quantity of CD plates, two decoders, two satellite dish, one 21’’ television set, one DVD player, two bags of Urea fertilizer, one elite dry cell 12v battery, one blue gate UPS, One stabiliser, 10 hand held Motorola radios and five battery chargers.

    Jarma died yesterday afternoon at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi (ATBUTH), Bauchi while receiving treatment as a result of injuries he sustained from the gunshots.

    The former prisons boss was shot near his house in Azare headquarters of Katagum Local Government area of Bauchi state by unknown gunmen as he was coming out from the mosque after observing the Ishai prayer.

    The gunmen also killed one of his security guards, a prison warder and injured one when they opened fire at the security guards in Azare.

    Chief Medical Director of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Dr Mohammed Alkali confirmed the death of Alhaji Jarma in a telephone interview with reporters.

    Alkali said that the former Comptroller General of Prisons was transferred to ATBUTH from Federal medical centre Azare on Monday night but died while receiving treatment yesterday afternoon.

    Jarma, who retired from the service as Comptroller General of Prison in 2002, contested the governorship election in 2003 on the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) against Former Governor Adamu Mu’azu.

    Holder of the traditional title of the Jarman Katagum, the former Prisons boss  was educated at the famous Barewa College, Zaria, Kaduna State, was at the wedding of the governor Isa Yuguda’s son held at the Emir of Katagum’s Palace  a fortnight ago and was part of the marriage process.

     

  • Boko Haram: Bloody days in Kano, Borno, Bauchi

    Boko Haram: Bloody days in Kano, Borno, Bauchi

    -20 die in clashes -JTF: sect’s kingpin killed

     

    Guns boomed in some parts of the North on Sunday and yesterday.

    Twenty people were killed in clashes in Kano and the Borno State capital, Maiduguri.

    Gunmen believed to be members of the Boko Haram sect stormed Bauchi, killing nine people on Sunday night.

    In Maiduguri, a gun duel between men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the Boko Haram men led to the death of 10 gunmen. Some JTF members were injured and  some houses burnt down.

    Yesterday, the JTF in Kano claimed to have killed a kingpin of Boko Haram (western education is a sin). It also declared two members of the sect arrested.

    Sources close to the Kano JTF said it killed Abu Qaqa, the Boko Haram spokesman, in Kano after which two others with him were arrested, but the sect had not reacted as at last night.

    A JTF official said Boko Haram spokesman and commander of its members in Kogi State were shot dead at a checkpoint at Mariri, Kano. The official said the men had come to Kano to seek medical attention for the spokesman’s wife, the BBC reported.

    Boko Haram has staged numerous attacks across the North, killing some 1,400 people.

    The military has previously claimed to have arrested Abul Qaqa, but this was denied by Boko Haram officials who said a wrong man had been detained.

    The JTF said it stopped a car suspected to be carrying some senior Boko Haram commanders in Kano.

    A source close to the military said one of the people in the car tried to escape and was shot. He died in the hospital.

    The source said some of the people in the car informed the military that the person shot was Abu Qaqa, the man who signs emails sent to the media on behalf of the group.

    Abu Qaqa is believed to be an alias. So, establishing his identity will not be easy.

    The woman who was with them allegedly told security forces that the man killed was Abul Qaqa.

    Statements are often issued on behalf of Boko Haram in the name of Abul Qaqa, and someone identifying himself by that name has regularly held telephone conferences with reporters in Maiduguri.

    Earlier this year, security sources said a suspect believed to be Abul Qaqa had been arrested.

    At the time, a purported Boko Haram member confirmed one of the group’s high-ranking members was arrested, but refuted reports that the detained person was its spokesman.Boko Haram has been blamed for more than 1,400 deaths in the North.

    The group’s attacks have grown increasingly deadly and sophisticated, including suicide bombings at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in Abuja, the Police Headquarters and the Abuja office of ThisDay.

    JTF spokesman Lt. Ikedechi Iweha said an early morning operation was carried out in Hotoro Quarters.

    According to him, the suspects were raided and arrested following a tip-off from intelligence sources at an identified residential home in Hotoro Quarters.

    Asked whether one of the arrested suspects could be identified as Abu Qaqa, Lt. Iweha said, “All I know is that two people were arrested and I don’t know their rank. Therefore, I cannot know whether it is Abu Qaqa or not.”

    He said the suspects would be transferred to Abuja for further interrogation.

    The killing and the arrest of the two suspected Boko Haram members came barely 24 hours after gunmen believed to be members of the sect killed a Civil Defence Corps officer, alongside his wife, daughter and a visitor in his Hotoro Quarters home.

    Nine people were killed in Bauchi also on Sunday night.

    Governor Isa Yuguda yesterday condemned the killings and the wounding of 15 others in an attack on people at Zango in the Bauchi metropolis.

    The injured are receiving treatment at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi.

    Yuguda described the attack as an act of terrorism.

    His Chief Press Secretary Mr. Ishola Michael Adeyemi, spoke on his behalf in a statement.

    Yuguda said: “There is no way we will allow criminals and terrorists to continue living among us, terrorising innocent people. We must partner to stop these heinous acts.”

    The governor noted that terrorists’ acts are not directed at one direction because of religion, tribe and or political inclination, but every citizen is made a target. “We must come together to fight these evil men. They live among us and we must expose them at all cost. These wanton killings must stop now.”

    He added: “Let us allow security operatives to do their work and track down the criminals. We should please avoid anything that will lead to the loss of more lives and disrupt the peace that we are enjoying in the state.”

    The gunmen, operating on a tricycle (Keke NAPEP), opened fire on a group of people at Zango, at the Federal Housing Estate in Bauchi while they were relaxing.

    No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack that took place a few metres from where an Islamic group, the Kala-Kato, staged a revolt in February 2009.

    Security in the area and in the state capital has been tightened. Bauchi Police spokesman ASP Auyo confirmed the killings.

    In Borno State, no fewer than 10 people died on Sunday night during the exchange of gun fire between men of the JTF and some suspected terrorists.

    Some houses were also set on fire. The gun duel ensued after a bomb explosion in Gwange ward of the Maiduguri Metropolis around 8:30am.

    An eyewitness, Mallam Usman Abdullahi, said: “An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) suspected to have been planted by some terrorists targeting a security patrol vehicle in Gwange Ward, exploded, injuring two JTF men.

    Abdullahi said: “Soon after the explosion, gunshots ensued, but the JTF after repelling the attack, quickly cordoned off the area.

    “I cannot say whether those killed were innocent people or the houses which were set ablaze belong to the suspected terrorists, but all I saw with my eyes was that some bodies littered the streets on Monday morning, even as some houses were still burning,” Adbulahi said.

    A hospital attendant at the State Specialist Hospital, who does not want his name mentioned, said he saw two patrol vehicles of the JTF with bodies, adding that each of the vehicle carried five bodies. This was yesterday morning. He said they came to deposit bodies of those believed to be killed terrorist.

    Also on Sunday evening at about 8:45pm, some gunmen  and injured a business man and  top ANPP stakeholder in Yobe State, Alhaji Mustapha Sheriff Mashidimami.

    It was gathered that the gunmen who invaded the family house of the politician in Damboa road in Maiduguri, demanded some unspecified amount of money, but when they were not able to get their demands from the business man, they shot and injured him before they fled.

    JTF spokesman Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa and police spokesman Gideon Jibrin could not be reached because of lack of communication networks being experienced in the state for the past one week.

    A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Chris Alli yesterday said that for Nigeria to overcome the insurgency of Boko Haram, it must design its operations in a way that will make it impossible for members of the sect to have contacts with indigenes of communities.

    Gen. Alli canvassed a change of policy and setting up of operational command bases under the command of the President in areas prone to Boko Haram attacks.

    He spoke in Benin City yesterday at the 80th birthday celebration by Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia. He delivered a lecture on the topic: “Reshaping the Nigerian Army Changing Security Environment.”

    The former Chief of Army Staff called for the establishment of a foreign unit to monitor Boko Haram interaction with terrorists operating outside Nigeria.

    He said: “Activities of Boko Haram in the Northern part of Nigeria have become a major security threat, as the sect pursues an extremist ideology seeking to establish an absolute Islamic State starting with Borno State.

    “The sect’s objective is to destroy the present democratic practices and impose its own brand of government.’

    Gen. Alli urged the government to provide medical services and basic amenities to individuals affected by Boko Haram activities as well as providing services that Boko Haram could not provide.

    He noted that Nigeria Army cannot execute many of its tasks because it lacks “significant airlift and sealift capabilities.”

    He said ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria could have been well managed by the police if not for the teeming jobless youths and proliferation of arms.