Tag: suicide attack’

•We’ll sustain the onslaught tempo, says military 

Boko Haram yesterday sustained their suicide mission in the Northeast – the battle they re-launched on President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration day.

Another suicide attack in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, took place yesterday afternoon at the Kasuwan Shanu(meat market).

There are conflicting figures of casualities. While some people claimed 50 people dies, others said it was 20. But the police chief said five people were killed by the bomber.

Yesterday’s was the fourth bomb blast within Maiduguri and Biu town in Borno State since May 29.

A butcher at the abattoir one Ado Mohammed Lawan said after the bomb went off, many of the victims were burnt beyond recognition

“Most of the people taken to the hospital were completely burnt. You could only identify some of them from the head. I started counting the dead but I lost count because I could not continue. But over 20 people that I counted were burnt beyond recognition” Lawan informed.

The Police in Borno said five persons died when the suicide bomber struck.

Mr Aderemi Opadokun, the Commissioner of Police Aderemi Opadokun said the bombing occurred at about 11.30 a.m.

“A suicide bomber, who was shouting “Sai Buhari”, and dancing in the abattoir, detonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped on his body when people had gathered around him.

“Five people, including himself, died, while eight others sustained injuries”, he said.

Opadokun added that policemen were mobilised to the scene to evacuate the bodies and convey the injured to the hospital, adding that investigation into the blast was ongoing.

A witness who helped evacuate victims from the scene said: “We have been helping to evacuate the bodies and I can say over 50 people died from the attack,” Isa Mohammed, a vigilante militia member, said by phone.

 

Buhari, service chiefs meet

 

Yesterday, the service chiefs met with President Buhari at the Defence House in Abuja on the Boko Haram challenge and other security matters. The president has not moved to the Presidential Villa.

All of them, led by Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Alex Barde attended the meeting.

Others at the meeting were National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Kenneth Minimah, Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosun and Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase.

Naval chief Vice Admiral Jibrin told reporters at the end of the meeting that the Nigerian Armed Forces will continue to sustain the tempo against Boko Haram until the terrorists are defeated.

.According to him, work is in progress on the presidential directive for the command centre against Boko Haram to relocate to Maiduguri, Borno State.

He said: “The Boko haram issue, like I told you we have just given general briefing with respect to general security situation. Specifically on Boko Haram, with the level of successes being recorded, we want to maintain the tempo, and sustain until they are routed out.

“Like I told you, we are sustaining the tempo and the successes we have recoded so far, we want to continue to maintain that and if there is any suggested solutions that requires amendments or alteration of what we’re doing, why not? Most especially the more they give us the intelligence, the better.” he added.

On when the command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri, he said: “The command cente we are the ones to go back and work on it. Soon it will be carried out, it is a Presidential directive, it must be carried out, and we must do that as quickly as possible.”

He urged all Nigerians to continue to support the military and provide them with the needed intelligence.

“Their movements and suspicious movement should be reported to the police of course the police will make that available to us. You know as we continue to put pressure on them, in the Sambisa area, they will try to run away from there and then create further problems, using improvised explosives devices.” he said

He said that the meeting was the first time the service chiefs were meeting formally with the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces since his inauguration to give him the general security briefing of the country.

 

No fewer than 15 people were yesterday killed in a suicide attack at the Central Market in Biu town, Biu Local Government area of Borno State.

 Biu has been one of the safest local government areas in the state before yesterday’s strike suspected to be by Boko Haram.

Last month, when the insurgents attempted to attack the town, they suffered huge losses as troops swooped on them.

Yesterday’s bombing took place as Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was on his way to the town on campaign.

The former governor was already in neighbouring town Hawul.

 An eye witness to the bombing one Isa Mohammed said he went to the market to buy things when the bomber detonated the explosive which instantly killed about seven people.

 ”I was at the gate of the market when the incident occurred. I saw seven bodies been taken out of the hospital. Many other people were injured.

 A Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) member who took part in the rescue operation said 15 bodies were taken to the Biu General Hospital. He said that many people were donating blood to assist the victims’ treatment at the hospital.

Another Civilian JTC said the explosives were concealed in a truck conveying tomatoes to the market.

“The driver of the pick-up came through the Coca-Cola gate of the market and they asked him where he was coming from and he mentioned the name of one village. He was allowed into the market and immediately he passed the gate, the bomb went off.

“Many of the people that died are these truck pushers, people selling petty things like carrot and fruits. A man who has a big pharmacy near the market also died in the explosion,” he said.

“We are at the Biu General Hospital helping the people that are injured and brought to the hospital. I just met with one of the doctors helping in the rescue and he has confirmed to me seven people were brought in dead and eight injured people later died making 15 dead. About 21 people are critically injured,” the source said.

A witness said the explosion occurred at about 3:25pm.

 ”There is confusion in town now because youths are removing PDP flags and are saying that it was because Modu Sheriff was visiting the town on campaign that they suffered the bomb attack.” the CJTF operative who doesn’t want to be named said on the telephone.

 Biu town is 185km away from Maiduguri, the state capital.