MILITARY TAKES DELIVERY OF NEW HARDWARE .. PUSH BOKO HARAM OUT OF BAMA In what looked like a move to reinforce the troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists in North-eastern Nigeria, the Nigerian army Monday night deployed over 30 armoured tanks to Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States that were recently ordered by the federal government to crush the insurgency. THISDAY confirmed the movement of about two trailer loads of over 30 tanks around 9 pm along the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway. This is just as the Borno youth vigilantes, popularly known as the Civilian JTF, yesterday dispelled reports that Boko Haram terrorists had taken over Bama, the second largest town in Borno State, stating that it was the insurgents, who had recorded major casualties during their fight with the military on Monday, losing 130 members with 35 others arrested. The insurgents, who had launched an early dawn raid on Bama, were repelled by the military and prevented from entering Maidugri, the state capital. The tanks, which looked rusty with the “UN” inscription on them, appeared to have been offloaded recently from the seaports and were heading towards the north. Efforts to get confirmation from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and Defence Headquarters (DHQ) were futile as their spokespersons could not be reached. However, an intelligent officer who spoke to THISDAY on the issue said the tanks were disguised with the UN insignia on them in order to conceal their place of origin. In May this year, ABC News, an American television network, had reported that the federal government, through ONSA, had hired a powerful Washington lobbyist to press its case for the release of intelligence on Boko Haram and to persuade the Barack Obama administration to donate non-lethal equipment. .thisdaylive/articles/military-takes-delivery-of-new-hardware-insurgents-death-toll-rises-to-130-in-bama/188056/#.VAaqy3WuZCA.facebook
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 06:21:38 +0000
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