Again, Boko Haram On The Rampage In spite of the emergency rule declared in three states in the northern part of the country, tragedy resurfaced again in Borno State yesterday. About 20 people were feared killed while several others sustained injuries when some suspected Boko Haram members launched separate attacks in Gajiram and Bulabulin Ngawra villages in the state. Bulabulin Ngawra is in Konduga Local Government Area while Gajiram is in Nganzai Local Government Area. The secretariat complex of Nganzai Local Government, two primary schools, a clinic and some residential houses were also set ablaze by the attackers. Nganzai is about 73 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital, and Bullabulin Ngawra 45 kilometres away. Both councils are linked and have borders with the terrorists’ camps in Marte and Sambiza forests, which the Joint Task Force, JTF, said it had destroyed during the peak of the military onslaught against terrorists in the state. A state of emergency has been emplaced in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states since June this year. Although, the actual number of casualties could not be officially ascertained as at the time of going to press, our correspondent gathered that some terror suspects numbering over 40-fully armed with AK47 rifles invaded Gajiram on Thursday where they killed 15 residents. They also set some public and residential buildings ablaze before they were repelled by the combined efforts of the vigilance youths and JTF operatives. The State Attorney-General, Kaka Lawan, was said to have visited Gajiram to commiserate with the residents. He was accompanied by the chairman of the local government council and some senior police officers. Governor Kashim Shettima and his deputy, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, were reportedly out of Maiduguri on an official assignment in Abuja. Also, the Maiduguri- Dambao-Biu road, reopened recently after its closure by the JTF, was under siege by the deadly group which mounted a roadblock a few metres away from Bullabulin Ngawra village. No fewer than five people were killed in the attack. A witness, Aisami Babagana, from Bulabilin Ngawra said: “I believe that they attacked us because of how our volunteers have succeeded in curtailing their atrocities in our area.” Residents of Maiduguri, who did not want their names mentioned, told our correspondent yesterday that “we saw two Hilux patrol vehicles of the JTF conveying dead bodies and the injured to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH, but could not ascertain whether they were victims of the latest attacks in Nganzai and Bullabulin Ngawra.” Meanwhile, members of the vigilance youths known as “Civilian JTF” and JTF on Wednesday arrested 14 terror suspects with arms and ammunition in Bulunkutu ward, the UMTH premises and Sulimanti ward of Maiduguri metropolis. Sources said that the arporested terror suspects at UMTH sneaked into the hospital through the fence before the youths sighted them. The suspects arrested in Bulunkutu area of the metropolis were said to be “Boko Haram informants” from Northern Borno and Yobe states, who came to Maiduguri on Tuesday to collect more information on the activities of JTF and vigilance youths patrolling Bulunkutu and Gomari Airport wards of Maiduguri. Speaking on how the terror suspects beat UMTH security on Tuesday, a source at the hospital said: “The suspects perforated the barbed wire and disguised as sick persons with rifles hidden under their flowing gowns. The vigilance youths were able to sight the suspects and arrest them on the spot before handing them to us here.” In a related development, six suspected members of the sect, including their commander (name withheld), were arrested on the same day by the combined efforts of the military operatives and the vigilante youths in Maiduguri, the state capital. Our correspondent gathered from reliable sources that the arrested commander of the sect was in charge of Sulimanti ward where he also led his members to carry out a deadly attack early this year on a bakery in Sulimanti and slaughtered six workers. The source explained that the sect’s commander was arrested in Konguga Council area on Tuesday, and after interrogation, he pleaded with the JTF to allow him come to Maiduguri and expose some of his collaborators, pointing out that when the suspect was taken to Sulimanti wards, he was able to fish out five of his collaborators before handing them over to security forces. JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, told journalists in Maiduguri that he was unaware of the incidents, but promised to issue a press release later. -National Mirror
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 05:32:08 +0000
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