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Tag: Maiduguri

  • Boko Haram: Military to clear Lake Chad for framing activities

    The military has announced its resolve to clear the Lake Chad Basin of Boko Haram remnants to pave way for the return of IDPs and the resumption of fishing and farming activities in the area.

    The Commander Operation Last hold of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Abba Dikko stated this at press briefing in Maiduguri.

    The briefing which was coordinated by the The Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Rogers Nicholas had in attendance all security agencies working in the theatre as well as International Non Governmental Organisations.

    According to Maj. Gen Dikko, the operation will be used as part of the Army Day Celebration for 2018 and would be used to facilitate the return of displaced people from the area to return to their farms and continue their normal lives.

    He informed that the operation will last for four months.

    While giving the details and objectives of the operation, Maj. Gen. Dikko said;

    “Undeterred by the mutating posture of the Boko Haram, the Nigerian Army is determined to consolidate on its recent gains in the ongoing push especially in the Northern most part of Borno. Accordingly, this year’s Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) 2018 will be commemorated with the conduct of an operation tagged Operation LAST HOLD in Northern Borno within the North East Theatre. The design is to deploy personnel and equipment to showcase the combat efficiency of the NA and thereafter conduct operations to totally destroy Boko Haram locations in the Lake Chad Basin general area.

    “Operation LAST HOLD is expected to last for 4 months and it will entail deployment of additional manoeuvre brigades and other critical assets in Borno State. The operation is intended to facilitate the clearance of the Lake Chad waterways of sea weeds and other obstacles obstructing the movement of boats and people across the water channels. It will also ensure the destruction of Boko Haram Terrorist camps and strong points in the Lake Chad Basin general area. The operation will also facilitate the rescue of hostages. The end-state of Operation LAST HOLD is the total defeat of the Boko Haram Terrorist Sect in northern Borno. This will pave way for the return of local administration and people to their responsibilities and communities. Strategically, the conduct of Operation LAST HOLD will facilitate the restoration of fishing, farming and other economic activities in the Lake Chad Basin. Additionally, it will facilitate the relocation of Internally Displaced Persons from IDP camps back to their communities.

    “Operation LAST HOLD is conceptualized to involve the conduct of population influence activities targeted to improve Civil-Military relations in the North East region. In this regard, law abiding members of the public in Northern Borno State are enjoined not to panic as their safety and well-being have been deliberately factored in the operation. The general public is requested to remain vigilant and be security conscious, as suspected insurgents may be fleeing from military operations in the North East and finding safe haven amidst our communities. The public is also reminded to report any suspicious activity or movement to the nearest military formation or other security agencies for prompt action;” Maj. Gen. Dikko explained.

    Read Also: Army in final push against Boko Haram

    Speaking on the Civil Military aspect of the operation, the Chief of Civil Military Affairs of the Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Nuhu Angbazo said the operation will be embedded with sensitization workshops, medical outreach services, moulding blocks for the local people to rebuild their houses etc, stressing that it is aimed at highlighting the humanitarian commitment of the Army to the civilian population.

    “It is designed to feature Nigerian Army’s humanitarian commitment and showcase the combat capability and equipment of the Nigerian Army and subsequently conduct operations to totally destroy Boko Haram Terrorist locations in the LAKE CHAD Basin.
    Accordingly, Civil Military Cooperation activities are embedded in OP LAST HOLD which will commence from 1 May – 8 Jul 18. Activities for NADCEL 2018 will include COAS Press Conference, combined Church Service/Juma’at Prayer in all Formations, Sanitation Exercises and Seminars/Workshops. There will be robust Civil Military Cooperation activities such as medical outreach, sanitation exercises, renovation/const of boreholes and town hall meetings tailored towards winning the hearts and minds of the civil populace within the theatre as well as facilitate the safe relocation of Internally Displaced
    Persons back to their homes.

    Additionally, the Nigerian Army Engineers will mould blocks using compressor machines and assist in building new homes for returnees at their various towns. The Nigerian Army will also cooperate with state governments and ministry of agriculture to assist in land clearing for planting during the planting season. It will provide protection throughout planting and harvest periods with patrols and escorts to ensure food sufficiency. The Nigerian Army Medical Corps will equally deploy medical resources fully to cover the period of the operation. Sanitation exercises in selected locations with large presence of civilians as well as town hall, security meetings and sensitization workshops with traditional rulers, religious leaders, village heads etc will also be held in the following locations:
    a. Monguno.
    b. Gajiran.
    c. Baga.
    d. Dapchi.
    e. Kukawa.
    f. Mallam Fatori.
    g. Gashage.
    h. Arege.
    i. Jilil.’, Gen Angbazo explained.

    He also announced that the state governments of Borno andb Yobe have shown interests to ensure the success of the operation.

    “Already, consultations have commenced with visits to the Borno and Yobe State Governments whom have shown enthusiastic interest in the activities lined up for this operation.
    A mini water project has also been commissioned in Gelengu, Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe State. Similarly, consultations with Federal ministry of Agriculture and other relevant ministries are ongoing with the view to eliciting their active involvement in the rehabilitation and location of Internally Displaced Persons back to their communities.

    “The Nigerian Army recognizes the importance and role of the media not just in information dissemination but also for the crucial roles it plays in winning the hearts and minds of the civil populace. To ensure that the general public is carried along, and kept abreast with the activities of the Nigerian Army as regards NADCEL 2018 and OP LAST HOLD, the Nigerian Army has established a Media Operation Centre. The aim of this media centre is to ensure that clear information regarding Nigerian Army operations is passed across to the general public. To achieve this, there will be daily briefings and press releases throughout the duration of OP LAST HOLD leading to the NADCEL 2018 in line with operational objectives.

    “It is important for me at this point to inform the general public that the NADCEL 2018 is planned to be very unique and as such different from previous Celebration. Therefore, the activities to be carried out will very robust in line with the achievement of the operational endstate. Various activities will be simultaneously conducted at different locations as earlier stated and will culminate on the 6 Jul 18 with the grand finale of NADCEL 2018. I want to therefore assure you once again that the media will be carried along on these activities even as we draw nearer to 6 Jul 18. We therefore call on all well meaning Nigerians to support the Nigerian Army and its activities throughout this period.

    “The planned Civil Military Cooperation activities for OP LAST HOLD/NADCEL 2018 are expected to achieve both strategic and operational end states and are geared towards facilitating the quick return of Internally Displaced Persons to their ancestral homes as well as winning the hearts and minds of the civil populace in support of Nigerian Army operations. Let me also use this medium to call on all well-meaning Nigerians, Civil Society Organisation, International Non-Governmental Organisations and the private sector to support the Nigerian Army to ensure the successful return of Internally Displaced Persons to their ancestral homes,” he explained.

    In his remarks, the Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj Gen Roggers Nicholas called on the INGOs to take advantage of the operation and step up their activities and reach out to areas hitherto inaccessible.

    Maj. Gen Roggers also appeal to the INGOs and government to provide agricultural inputs for returnees to enable them carry out their farming activities.

  • Year of the funeral pyre

    February 2017. A pretty, young girl blew up in Muna Dalti. She was a casualty of fear, the terror that makes us bestial. There were corn rows on the head of the girl bomber. There was a colourful bead on her wrist too. She probably loved to play dress-up and look good. Everybody forgets these bits of her.

    Folk remember her as the ‘vixen’ who flicked a switch and blew up, into a puddle of flesh and bone fragments. No one cares if she was ever innocent or raised in virtue. The village is thankful that she took no innocent life, save her teenage accomplice’s. Their carcass lay strewn about the rustic community in Maiduguri, Borno State. Their innards and blood spatter sully the village even as you read.

    Viewing her in the dust few metres from her shredded mate, the girl with the cornrows evoked the dread that wild weeds induce at the base of shoots. Two hours after her ‘sister’ and agent of a terrorist group, Boko Haram, detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the Muna vehicle park, injuring eight people and burning 13 freight trucks, the girl with the cornrows sauntered into Muna Dalti with another ‘sister’ to explode among soft targets.

    Till date, nobody knows the names of the  girls that blew up in Muna Dalti but several folk would remember Maryam Alhaji-Wakil in whom the girl died on a sunlit afternoon in Bama. That fateful day in 2014, Boko Haram insurgents invaded her town and burnt her home. They killed her relatives and decapitated her neighbours. Then they abducted her. She was nine years old.

    Maryam’s abductors whisked her to Sambisa Forest, their terror enclave. There, she was forcibly married to Modu, a ‘violent’ member of the sect. In two days, little Maryam was violently thrust into womanhood. Modu, 35, forced his way into her unripe orifice, robbing her of innocence and the mystic pleasure of first adult sexual experience. Modu was hasty and rough thus making her ‘first time’ bestial and replete with pain. She screamed in agony but Modu didn’t care. “The louder I screamed, the more violently he shoved into me until I passed out,” she told me in an exclusive interview.

    When she came to, the nine-year-old from Bama had transformed into a broken woman in the corpse of a child.

    Cut to a fresh hodgepodge of bloodshed and mayhem perpetrated in Benue, from dusk through dawn and you have a perfect picture of terror afflicting the Nigerian State.

    Contrary to widespread belief, the terror we face are hardly the podgy, covetous creatures we ennoble with public office and the Nigerian till; true terror lives in the Nigerian youth. The contemporary youth is both a victim and perpetrator of terror.

    January 2018 till date; season of the funeral pyre. Hundreds are hacked to death weekly, on the pretext of herdsmen vs. host communities’ crisis. In the wake of the genocide, public officers and politicians of the ruling party trade blame with opposition. They play to the gallery.

    At the backdrop of their shenanigans, poor, helpless kids like Maryam and the butchered residents of Benue lose their lives.

    Irrational brick bats, unbelievable platitudes and senseless bloodshed have shaped our politics for too long. Many Nigerians, youth in particular, are probably living through the worst decade of their lives. They read of bloody genocides at dawn, poverty and strife in the next city – many more live through such. And as usual, an economy patched with foreign loans and dubious tales of growth. If Nigeria is prospering, it hasn’t manifested in the lives of the citizenry.

    It took a perfect gathering of bad leadership to get to this moment. It would take electing an imperfect cannonball of a man or woman to brave through it and survive it. It’s about time Nigeria’s youth elected men of uncommon grit and fibre into public offices.

    Come 2019, what we should be interested in are candidates, president-elect in particular, capable of fostering policies that would generate employment, a functional health sector and an educational system capable of providing the skilled manpower that Nigeria needs to power her industry.

    If the youth are gainfully employed, they won’t become vulnerable to criminal masterminds using them to foment mayhem. Today is spitting out monsters and tomorrow portends the emergence of a thousand more ogres.

    What Nigeria needs at the moment are youth driven by moral courage to change the status quo; by influencing change beneficial to all. Moral courage encompasses the nerve to do the right thing and speak the truth always. It involves defying the mob as a solitary individual; to spurn the invigorating embrace of comradeship; to be disobedient to authority, even at the risk of your life, for a higher principle.

    And with moral courage comes persecution and any other form of repercussion that exposes the individual as a defenseless mark to be preyed upon. Gani Fawehinmi had moral courage, so did Malcolm X. Predictably, advocates of such morality are either maligned by fate or ascribed rogue status by the state. Routinely they are accused and charged for treason.

    But in their touted notoriety subsists the irony of an incontrovertible metaphor; they usually represent the best of mankind and civilization in their time.

    Come 2019, the youth should root for a candidate identifiable as the window into the Nigerian psyche. The one who internalises the grief he has learnt from the streets. I speak of the candidate that manifests as the blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes can rally to project their dreams and needs; the passive yet active instrument by which Nigeria may prosper and we could achieve our dreams.

    To find such a candidate, the search begins now. None of the current contenders is worthy of the Nigerian vote. If Nigeria recycles them in power, the world that awaits us would be more painful and difficult.

  • Boko Haram: NSCDC deploys 50 personnel to Maiduguri

    Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps  (NSCDC) on Monday says it deployed 50 under-cover personnel to enhance security in Jiddari Polo area of Maiduguri to check security.

    The Commandant of the corps, Ibrahim Abdullahi, disclosed this in an interview with our reporter in Maiduguri.

    Abdullahi, who reassured residents of the area of safety, appealled to them to stop fleeing their homes because of the April 26 failed attack by Boko Haram.

    Suspected Boko Haram members on April 26 terrorised people of Jiddari Polo area of Maiduguri as they used heavy machines and guns while trying to penetrate into the state capital.

    The suspected terrorists were, however, repelled by troops of Nigerian Army as they engaged in hot battle around the cashew plantation on Maiduguri-Damboa road and overpowered the terrorists.

    As the battle went on, residents of Jiddari Polo were terrified and thousands scampered for safety as they flee to other places.

    The NSCDC commander, therefore, said “it was natural when something of that nature happened, people would be afraid but they should recall that the combined effort of security agencies on that day dealt with the situation.

    “The Theartre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Lt.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, had already directed continued daily patrol to avert recurrence of attacks.

    “We call on the people to be security conscious and establish minimum security in their places of worship to forestall any sudden attack.

    “Also, the move by Borno Government to establish neighbourhood watch would go a long way in complementing the services of security agencies.

    “We also appeal to the media not to cause further damage in the psychy of residents who always depend on news stories as source of information.”

    The commandant said the aim of the insurgents was to instill fear, cause confusion and crippled commercial activities, saying “we want people to be courageous and not to give any chance to the insurgents.”

    NAN

     

  • Maiduguri attacks: NEMA evacuates causality (Photos)

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), have been spotted clearing the scene of Boko Haram attacks in Maiduguri on Friday.

    According to Nema Northeast, nine persons have been confirmed dead at jiddari polo and high court area of the metropolis, where four are residents and the other five are suicide bombers.

     

  • Video: Six killed, others wounded in Maiduguri attack -Police

    The Police in Borno said six persons were killed in an attack coordinated by Boko Haram insurgents at Jidari Polo area of Maiduguri on Thursday.

    Mr Edet Okon, the Public Relations Officer (PPRO), said in a statement on Friday that the victims included three civilians, a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and two female suicide bombers.

    Okon disclosed that two men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) and seven other persons sustained injuries from gunshots and explosions in the attack.

    He added that a Police Personnel Carrier (APC) vehicle was damaged in the attack.

    Okon said: “on Thursday April 26; at about 17: 00 pm, Boko Haram Terrorists launched a surprise attack at Jidari Polo area of Maiduguri near the Federal High court.

    “The terrorists fired sporadically and detonated Improvise Explosive Devices (IEDs). The Borno State Police Command promptly deployed combat teams of SARS, PMF and EOD to support the Military and the Divisional Police Officer of GRA division who were already at the scene.

    “The insurgents were successfully repelled by the security forces after fierce gun battle with profuse tear smoke application.

    “There was no casualty on the side of the police apart from two SARS personnel that were injured in the battle. A police Amoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was also damaged by IED explosions. Seven other persons were severely injured.

    “Four persons including a member of the CJTF and two female suicide bombers were killed in crossfire and IED explosions.

    “The victims and corpses were evacuated to the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri. Normalcy has been restored in the area”.

    Okon added that preemptive deployments were being put in place to forestall further surprise attack.

    He quoted the Police Commissioner, Mr Damian Chukwu, as calling on members of the public to go about their lawful activities without fear.

    (Boko Haram suicide vehicle destroyed by the Nigerian Air Force)

    However, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), in a joint press briefing said nine persons were killed in the attack.

    NEMA’s Northeast Zonal Director, Mr Bashir Garga, said that five suicide bombers detonated IEDs and killed themselves while four civilians lost their lives in the attack.

    Garga disclosed that a number of persons also sustained injuries in the attack, adding that: “people panicked, fled their homes to escape the attack and in the process got injured.

    “We conducted evacuation exercise in the affected areas and normalcy has been restored”.

    Garga called on people to desist from going to the scene of attacks, noting that the trend was obstructing rescue services and expose workers to dangers.

  • N2.4b rice donated by Chinese government intact – NEMA DG

    Contrary to insinuations that the 6779 metric tons (about N2.4b) of rice donated to the Nigerian government by China were not missing.

    The first batch of the cleared relief materials had been warehouses in Maiduguri and Yola.

    Also, the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Nigerian Customs Service ( NCS ) confirmed the process of securing the delivery of the rice.

    The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ), Engr. Mustapha Maihaja cleared the air on Wednesday while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness at the continuation of the investigation of

    He said no time was wasted to secure and a take delivery of the goods as directed by the Federal Government.
    Maihaja said: “As soon as we secured the necessary documents, we liase with all relevant agencies concerned with clearing but we  have to invoke Section 43 (1)b of the Emergency Act  because the good has stayed for six months in the port.

    “Secondly, it was a tough decision to take considering  the situation we found ourselves in. We have to consider the condition of the people of the region that is North-East, who are in danger of hunger and famine. We also have to consider the condition of the rice too.

    “We are still in the process of procuring the rest of the material, but we have taken poasession of 110 containers and they are in two locations in Maiduguri and Yola.

    “We had to follow that pattern to save the item and the people. “There are still some in the port but all expenses are incurred by NEMA, though  we have not paid on clearing but a little above N400m have been paid  on demurrrage for the total consignment.

    “With all sincerity of purpose, the problem is about the process which involved three agencies. The process should be looked at”.

    Maihaja said the delay in clearance of goods at the ports was not peculiar to NEMA.

    The DG added: “About 135,500 bags of rice, worth about N2.4billion,  were donated to Nigeria by the Chinese Government. The actual clearance started in January and those already offloaded are being kept in warehouses in Maiduguri and Yola. The bags of rice were not missing and they were not diverted.

    “The delay in completing the clearance was caused by inherent process including securing exemptions. Waivers and other clearance related matters.

    “This delay in clearing government goods is not only peculiar to this exercise, it is applicable to many. The Federal Government has noted the inherent process in clearing goods and it is looking at eliminating the causative factors.

    “As soon as the clearance is completed, the bags of rice will be offloaded and distributed to the IDPs.”

    The representative of the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Samuel Iloma a Deputy Director said being the recipient of the donation, the waiver certificates were processed for the consignment that came in five batches.

    He said: “We thought with the collection of the waiver, NEMA  will just go and distribute but we got to understand later that the clearance is much more than that.

    “That was why we approached a clearing firm about what’s  involved to do the  clearing and it was then we were told its going to involve money to get the neccesary  documents,” he said.

    On her part, Ezekezie Kaycee, an Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) of Customs, who represented the CG said 3,779 metric tonnes have been cleared by Customs leaving a balance of  3,000 mt.
    She also cautioned that the said number does not mean that the entire consignment has left the ports.

    She said: “Even from this number, only 1,250 has been cleared because this depends on the vessels  it takes an average of 30 days to clear.

    “From our records, three Bills of laden have been cleared but this does not mean they have left the port. The NCS is only  are only through with three bills,” she added.

    The committee however ruled that the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun and her Budget and National Planning counterpart, Udo Udoma must appear before it.

    Also, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh as well as the Comptroller General ( CG) of the Nigerian Customs Service ( NCS ), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) have also been invited by the lawmakers to explain their roles over the movement of the relief material.

  • 2019: PERL engages Borno Stakeholders on electoral processes

    The Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), a DFID funded program in Nigeria has engaged stakeholders in Borno State to discuss the electoral processes ahead of the 2019 general elections in the country.

    The meeting which was held at Barwee Luxury Suites in Maiduguri had in attendance representatives of the media, Civil Society Organization, National Orientation Agency (NOA), State House of Assembly, religious and faith based organization, private sector, service delivery partners among others.

    The co-chair of the meeting Prof. Danjuma Gambo at the plenary together with the participants brainstormed on issues arising from the conduct of elections both before during and after the process in the state.

    The sessions tried to asked questions which have direct impact on the electoral process and the role of the various stakeholders in affecting the process.

    Some of the important questions raised include; how are the constituencies currently engaging the electoral process?, how well are they working together and to what degree are they influential in the electoral process?

    Other issues also discussed included the possible electoral and post electoral outcomes in the state, which of the outcomes are most likely to occur, what are the possible opportunities in terms of issues, actors and platforms that patterns can engage pre and post elections and what are the potential risks and dangers and how they could be mitigated in the state.

    The co-chair, Prof. Danjuma Gambo at the end of the deliberation submitted that all stakeholders need to work hard in the state on the electoral process especially the pre-election time so as to mitigate the potential dangers ahead of the election.

    “Going by the discussions that we have head hear, there is more work to be done concerning citizens engagement in the electoral process in Borno State. It is therefore very important that all stakeholders in this hall must agree to step of their game for a more constructive engagement of the citizen on electoral processes in the state especially the pre-election time so that the expected outcomes will be favorable to all”, Prof Gambo said.

    The Northeast Regional Team Leader for PERL/ECP Mrs Elizabeth Sara observed that citizen must be educated to de-emphasis on making personal demands from politicians but rather demand for community development for the welfare of the generality of everyone.

    “We must try to stop this trend of people going to politicians to make personal requests such as assistance for naming ceremony, assistance to marry. In order to drive development, person should approach politicians with community issues that affects everyone in that community so that such development if carried out will change the lives of the entire people in the community instead of one individual”, Mrs Sara observed.

    Ms Ase Taide, the Northeast partnership facilitator for PERL while explaining the objectives of the meeting said, “the timing is very important and we cannot wait until election time to engage citizens on their right”.

    The Borno State Director of National Orientation Agency Yaya Imam informed that his agency been carrying out sensitization campaign across the state by engaging with relevant stakeholders like INEC, Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the media etc.

    He called on all stakeholders especially the CSOs to sit up to their responsibility of sensitizing the people in order to have a free and fair election come 2019.

    NAN

     

  • Army sets up four-member investigative committee on Maiduguri attack

    The Nigerian Army on Tuesday constituted a four member committee to unravel the cause of the Easter Sunday night attack in the suburbs of Maiduguri.

    Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, made the disclosure during the inauguration of the committee at the Military Command and Control Centre, Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri.

    Nicholas disclosed that terms of reference of the committee was to unravel the cause of the attack so as forestall future occurrence.

    He explained that the committee, expected to submit it’s report within three days, is headed by Maj.-Gen. Henry Wesley, while three other army officers as members.

    The commander advised people in the metropolis to stay indoors in the event of attack by Boko Haram insurgents, to guard against exposing themselves to dangers.

    “It is good for people to stay indoors whenever there is blast or anything, the insurgents took advantage of such situations to unleash terror and kill people.

    Read Also: Army extends Exercise Cat Race in Taraba

    “It is safer to stay indoors rather than exposing yourselves to dangers outside. Casualties are high due to the people that trooped out of their homes recklessly,” he said.

    Nicholas also called on the people to be vigilant and reports suspicious persons and objects to security agents.

    According to him, the troops had repelled attacks by the insurgents and suicide bombers at Bale Shuwa, Bale-Kawuri and Alkaramti communities in the outskirts of Maiduguri.

    The commander disclosed that 19 persons were killed and over 80 others wounded, while seven suicide bombers were killed in the attack.

    In his remarks, Wesley said the committee would conduct fact finding visit to the affected communities to ensure effective investigation into the incident.

    Wesley assured of the committee’s readiness to submit it’s report within the stipulated time.

    NAN

  • 15 kill, 55 persons injured in fresh Boko Haram attack in Maiduguri

    No fewer than 15 persons are feared  dead and  55 others sustained injuries in a Sunday night attack by Boko Haram insurgents at Bale community in the outskirts of Maiduguri.

    The News Agency of Nigeria  (NAN) reports that echoes from sporadic gunshots and multiple explosions which lasted for hours on Sunday evening, were heard from the  outskirts of the city.

    Competent security sources told NAN that a number of insurgents attacked Bale-Shuwa and Bale-Kura communities near Maiduguri in an attempt to infiltrate the town at about 8: 00 p. m.

    The source disclosed that the insurgents parked their vehicles few meters away from a security check point and sneaked into the community.

    The source  added that the security operatives engaged in fierce gun battle with the insurgents who detonated Improvised Explosive Devices  (IEDs) and shot sporadically.

    “Dozens of people including women and children were wounded from the explosion and gun shots.

    “Due to darkness dead bodies were not evacuated immediately  because there were suicide bombers among the attackers,” the added.

    However, the  Commander of the Theatre Command of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj-Gen. Rogers  Nicholas, denied any death on the side of his soldiers or civilians  in the attack.

    Reacting to NAN inquiry in a text message he said, however, that some of the Boko Haram insurgents were killed.

    “That’s not correct.  There was an attack which was repelled and some Boko Haram insurgents were killed by gallant soldiers.

    “However,  Boko Haram came with suicide bombers who denoted their vests while running from the troops fire in a nearby community and that led to 14 civilians being injured from the blasts.”   (NAN)

  • Troops kill 4 Boko Haram insurgents, neutralise 4 suicide bombers

    Nigerian Army on Saturday said its troops killed four Boko Haram insurgents at Malumti village in the fringes of Sambisa Forest.

    Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Operation Lafiya Dole, made the disclosure in a statement in Maiduguri.

    Nwachukwu stated that the insurgents were killed by troops in an ambush while trying to escape ongoing clearance exercise under “Operation Deep Punch II” on March 30.

    He said the troops recovered a Toyota Land Cruiser, one AK 47 Rifle , 15 Rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, one magazine and 47 Jerry cans of petrol from the insurgents.

    He added that “the insurgents were routed out of the Sambisa Forest by troops under Operation Deep Punch II, rummaging  for food and logistics when they met their Waterloo.”

    Nwachukwu disclosed that gallant troops deployed at a checkpoint in  Muna Garage in the outskirts of Maiduguri also neutralised four suicide bombers on Friday.

    He explained that the bombers, comprising a male and three females were killed while attempting to infiltrate Maiduguri metropolis.

    He noted that “the insurgents, attempting to infiltrate Maiduguri metropolis through Muna Zawiya area at about 9.30 p.m., were spotted by vigilance troops who fired shots, hitting one of them, thereby triggering simultaneous explosions which killed all of them.

    “Regrettably, 18 persons were injured in the incident and have been evacuated for medical attention.”

    According to him, troops and members of  the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) were  conducting cordon and search operation in the area for any other suicide bomber lurking around.

    Nwachukwu urged the public to be vigilant and report suspicious persons and activities to security agencies.