•Sect members loot food stuff in Yobe villages
A suicide bomber yesterday hit the Kasuwan-Gamboru market near the Nigeria Customs House in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, injuring four people. Only on Saturday, a suicide bomber killed 16 in a mosque in the same city.
An official of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) Abbas Gava said the explosives may have been concealed in some sacks of charcoal. He said one of the injured lost a hand. The Gamboru market has suffered several of such attacks in the last three years
A witness said the bomb exploded at about 1.pm when most of the traders were gearing up for the days sales.
According Hasimu Bello, the bomb must have been buried on the spot the previous day.
“It was suspected to have been buried near the spot where charcoal traders sell. We believe that they buried the explosives maybe yesterday,” :Hashimu said.
.”Four persons sustained injury; but one has more serious injury because one of his arm was cut off by the bomb.”
The insurgents appear to have re launched their dastardy campaign although President Muhammadu Buhari has warned he won’t tolerate their activities. He has even moved the central command of the military to Maiduguri until Boko Haram is conquered.
Also at the weekend, members of the sect attacked two Yobe towns – Fika and Ngalda – carting away foodstuff.
The extremists shot sporadically upon their arrival to scare away people so as to have ample opportunity to loot.
Chairman of Fika Local Government Area Alhaji Baba Abare, told reporters yesterday that the major targets of the militants were shops in which they looted food items and beverages.
He said nobody was killed.
A resident of the area,one Ibrahim Mohammed, told reporters that the terrorists first launched an attack on Ngalda, which is the Yobe/Gombe border town.
He said they proceeded from Ngalda to Fika town, the headquarters of Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State.
The resident said the gunmen also attacked the local government secretariat, the magistrate court and the Divisional Police station.
Yobe State Police Commissioner Markus Danladi, declined to comment on the attack, saying the Military Joint Task Force was the only body that was in a better position to comment on the development.
Senator Ali Ndume, Borno South yesterday praised President Muhammadu Buhari for directing the military high command to relocate to Maiduguri and concentrate on the fight against insurgents.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri that the move was a ‘right step in the right direction’.
“For people like us that had been in the fore-front, looking for solutions to the problem of insurgency, it is a heart-warming development.
“We have been anticipating that immediately he(Buhari) takes over, he will do something drastic and effective, in making sure that the issue of insurgency comes to an end,” Ndume said.
“With the new directives, we are hoping that insurgency in Borno and other states will come to an end sooner or later.
“With the good intention of the president, we are very optimistic that this madness will come to an end soonest,” he said.
Alhaji Jubrin Gunda, a legal practitioner and a former chairman of the Biu branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) spoke in the same manner.
“The action is highly commendable. If the military high command moves to Borno, there will be no room for excuses or failure, like we witnessed in the past,” he said.
Gunda, who is also the Legal Adviser of the Civilian JTF, said that it was certain that the military would wipe out the insurgents in a short time.
“The military will wipe out the insurgents in a couple of days or weeks. It is indeed a right step in the right direction,” Gunda said.
He said that stakeholders in the state had been waiting anxiously for the inauguration of Buhari as the president.
“Everybody must commend the president for taking such a laudable step towards tackling the insurgency.
“If you go round the state, you will see people in high spirit; we are all hoping that the insurgency will be crushed soon,” he added.
Mallam Iliya Ibrahim a businessman, appealed to the president to strictly monitor the operation of the military against the insurgents, to avert failure, similar to what was experienced in the past.
