The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sagir Musa

  • 20 Boko Haram members killed in Borno

    Twenty members of the notorious Boko Haram sect were  killed by men of the  Joint Task Force in Borno State, Operation Restore Order on Sunday  in a deadly shot out  in Monguno town.

    The killing of the sect members came just as two top members of the sect, said to be responsible for the detonation of explosive bombs during the visit last week to Maiduguri of governors of the opposition party were arrested.

    The spokesperson of the JTF, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa in a statement on Sunday said: “Information available to the Joint Task Force, Operation Restore Order indicated that some Boko Haram Terrorists attempted to attack a Military Barracks at Monguno, Monguno Local Government Area, Borno State at about 5 am today, Sunday 3 March, 2013.
    ” Monguno is about 200 kilometers away from Maiduguri and about two hours drive. The attack was repelled by the FOB’s and JTF troops at the outskirt of the barracks. The encounter led to the death of 20 Boko Haram Terrorists, 3 four wheel vehicles and 8 motor cycles used by the terrorists were destroyed.”

    Items  recovered from the sect members included seven AK47 Rifles, 10 Rocket Propelled Grenade, two RPG Tubes, large quantity of assorted Ammunitions and eight assorted magazines.

  • Confusion over French hostages’ release

    Confusion over French hostages’ release

    …They were not released in Nigeria – JTF

    … No official confirmation that they had been freed – French minister

    Reports that seven French hostages kidnapped in Cameroon were found alive and safe in a house in northern Nigeria on Thursday are false, a Nigerian military spokesman has said.

    “It’s not true,” said Sagir Musa, spokesman for the Joint Task Force in Borno State, where the hostages were reported to have been released.

    Reports quoting French and Cameroonian officials had earlier said the hostages were rescued and  freed in Nigeria.

    “They were found abandoned in a house in Dikwa” in Nigeria, about 100km [60 miles] from the border with Niger, a senior Cameroonian officer told AFP.

    “They are in the hands of the Nigerian authorities,” the officer added.

    Reuters reports that France’s minister for veterans’ affairs told parliament the four children and three adults abducted on Tuesday had been released.

    Few minutes later he said there was no official confirmation that they had been freed.

     

     

  • Suspected terrorists kill eight in Borno

    Suspected terrorists kill eight in Borno

    Suspected terrorists on Sunday killed eight people in a village in Borno State, with at least some of the victims’ throats slit, officials and residents told AFP on Monday.

    The Joint Task Force Spokesman in the area, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, confirmed that an attack had occurred Sunday in the village of Gajiganna, but declined to comment on the manner in which people were killed, saying only that “lives were lost.”

    Gajiganna is roughly 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Maiduguri, the base of the Boko Haram sect, but it was not clear who was responsible for the latest violence.

    “They were silent attacks and nobody knew what was happening until the morning when news began to filter from different neighbourhoods,” said resident Brah Chindo.

    There were conflicting reports from the area, with some saying certain victims were shot and others had their throats slit, while others spoke of all eight with their throats slit.

    “It is still not clear who carried out the attack because the attackers moved silently into these homes,” a local official, who asked that his name be withheld, told AFP.

    A local government employee in the area said he was told that “some of the victims were shot dead in their houses while others were dragged out of their houses by the gunmen, after which they slit their throats.”

    He added that “eight people were killed altogether.”

    In a text message, Musa said the death toll “is yet to be ascertained.”