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Yet again, Boko Haram batters Borno, 47 dead



It was another bloody day in Bama, Borno State yesterday. Boko Haram members launched suicide attacks, killing many residents. Some soldiers were injured.

During the fresh Bama attack on  Wednesday morning,  47 people lost their lives.

The attackers were said to have also  torched  the palace of the Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Kyari Elkanemi, the LGA headquarters, and nearly all other key public  buildings in the town.

Elkanemi’s whereabouts were unknown as of 9pm on Wednesday.

The attackers were  however more daring in the Buratai incident on Tuesday evening  as they stormed  the  private and  family homes of the Commander of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai.

One  person was said to have been killed in Buratai’s family house  and  a soldier in his  private  residence in the village.

 The Bama attack  occurred barely a few hours after  the Chief of Army Staff, Maj.Gen Kenneth Minimah, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, visited the community which had been attacked several times by the  insurgents.

They also took place barely three days after 146 people lost their lives  during  a raid on Izghe, a largely Christian community in Borno State.

The  state police commissioner, Lawal Tanko, who confirmed the death toll to Reuters, however did not provide further details about the latest attack.

Tanko said, ‘’Every landmark building, the Local government secretariat, the state lowcost housing estate, schools and several other buildings, as well as  a   part of   the Shehu’s palace were destroyed.

 “As of  the last time I spoke to my DPO in Bama, we  had 47 dead casualties recorded, while several number of  persons were confirmed injured.  Some are  already in hospitals there. I have instructed my men to liaise with the hospitals if we can have  the actual  figure of  the dead.’’

A survivor of the attack told Agence France Presse that assailants drove into the town  in heavy trucks through a secondary school.

He said, “We realised that they were in hundreds carrying sophisticated weapons. So we had to run as the soldiers on guard also took to their heels.”

The survivor, who said that he escaped to Maiduguri on foot, added that his other colleagues ran into a nearby Bama General Hospital before fleeing into the bush.

He added, “The attackers set everywhere ablaze using Improvised Explosive Devices  as they moved.
“As we ran, we kept seeing burnt houses,   dead bodies and  injured persons.”

 The Senator representing Borno Central, Ahmed Zannah, told the  British Broadcasting Corporation  Hausa Service that several persons were killed in the attack.

 He also said that many properties  were destroyed in the town.

 Someone that called in from Bama during the BBC  programme,   claimed that among those killed were five prominent persons from  the town.

 The anonymous caller said, “I can tell you that several persons were killed. The  hoodlums went from one house to the other, killing people at will. They went about burning shops and shooting  severely into the air.”

A military source  told one of our correspondents  that four suicide bombers, who were among the  insurgents,   attacked a tank belonging to the Special Forces in Bama but ended up blowing up  themselves to pieces.

He added that a soldier, who was   operating the tank, lost his life when he was hit by a shrapnel.

The source said, “The attackers came this time with suicide bombers.   Four of the  bombers  died during the operation.

 “They tried to climb one of the tanks of the Nigerian Army and succeeded in dislodging it but they all died. Their bodies were  strewn  with bombs.”

It was learnt that the Boko Haram insurgents, on arrival in  Bama  around  4am on Wednesday, first crippled  a telecommunication mast belonging to Airtel,  before invading and torching  the Emir’s  palace and public buildings.

 Another  military source told one of our correspondents that by the time the militants  left the  community, the only public  buildings left standing were those in   the Senior Boys Science College and the College of Education.

He  said, “These people went to Bama again. They commenced the operation around  4am.  They cut off telecommunication services in the town by successfully crippling Airtel Mast in the town.

 “This time, they burnt all the major buildings in the town except those in  the Senior Boys Science College and the College of Education.

 “They burnt the palace of the Emir, and all other important places in the town.”

 The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade,  who also confirmed it, said that soldiers had taken control of the town.

 He said, “Bama came under attack; eventually it was repelled; the troops repelled the attack and they have asserted control over the town.

 “We are doing cordon and search both to apprehend the fleeing insurgents and to determine the casualty figure in the attack.”

 When contacted, the   Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen Olajide Laleye, said, “I can confirm to you that there was an attack at Bama this morning (Wednesday).

He said that  soldiers killed a large number of the insurgents during the attack.
“The insurgents were killed enmasse. It was one of the greatest victories that we have had since the operation started,”  Laleye added.
Laleye,who  stated   that  Minimah and Amosu were still on a tour of military formations in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, denied that a Nigerian Army tank was destroyed by the insurgents.
 Boko Haram members  had attacked and burnt a part of the the Military Barracks in Bama in December  2013. They had  killed 55 people in an earlier attack on the same town on May 8, 2013.
 The dead included 22 police officers, 14 prison officials, two soldiers and four civilians. Thirteen of the insurgents  also  died.
A source in Burutai said that a carpenter was killed   while  another  resident was injured  by the insurgents  in the family home of the JTF boss.

The source, who   said the  militants totally razed the   general’s family  house  at about 6pm on Tuesday, added that they were    not successful when they attacked   his  personal house.

He said they received some resistance from the soldiers on guard.  He however added that  a soldier was killed in the exchange of gunfire.

 Meanwhile,  Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau,  has in a new video released on Wednesday, threatened  to attack  on oil installations  in the   Niger Delta.

“You will in coming days see your refinery bombed,” Shekau warned in the 28-minute video obtained by  the AFP.

“Niger Delta, you are in trouble,” he warned in Hausa.

The video was shot in an open field, where Shekau was surrounded by an armoured tank, two military vans and about a dozen gun-bearing soldiers.

In the video, Shekau, who admitted killing an Islamic cleric, Adam Albani, in Zaria  about two weeks ago, also threatened to kill other Muslim and political figures, including the  Shehu of Borno,  and the Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero.

“The reason why I will kill you is that  you are infidels. You follow democracy. Whoever follows democracy is an infidel. This is Shekau. This is why I am in enmity with you,” he said, his comments interspersed with gunshots fired in the air by him and his aides.
Bayero  was attacked by suspected Islamists last year.
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7 comments

  1. Naija na wa oh! we are gradually but steadily moving into a state of complete anarchy. God help us!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is understandable if the soldiers had t flee in the face of superior weapons and numbers. But why give us incredible stories. The accounts from eye withnesses said almost everything structure in the town was damaged. It would have taken a long time to acheive this, does it mean the army does not have a re-enforcement or back-up force on ground? It it no longer new that the Boko-haram use better weapons, what is the government doing about this? Cant the army be provided with better weapons amd their numbers increased? Can the government not see this as a total war and deploy troops to the region enmasse? From this particular story it can be safely deduced that the insurgents were never engaged in combat by the army. Most of the time we see dead bodies of innocent people on the streets, but we rarely see the bodies of Boko haram member that the army usually claim they have killed in large number. We are not fools. The government and the army have failed the innocent and defenceless people in that region, they should not make it worse by tellimg us lies. Only God can deliver us. We have a government that only cares about what more can be stuffed into their already bulging pockets. My candid advice for people in that region is to move to the capital or much safer states, because on this particular issue, the government is clueless and beaten. God bless Nigeria.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They should come to Niger Delta but I swear they won't go back alive. Idiots!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Am enjoyin,ur write up,but pls confirn b4 publish. Izge town is not largely christain community.be guided

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mr.Gbenga God bless u. I like Nigerian like u who are very objective in their analysis & state of mind.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So this is how to end the terrorist insurgency in 3 months ehh? Shame on the NA & their corrupt leaders. Even the Ethiopian Army had better results against the Alshabab Terrorists. Maybe we should hire them as mercineries to get the job done. GEJ & his band of thieves should be shoved aside!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Militants go provoke oh. You no say na dem know de paro as per weapons levuls na. Make dem play reash delta na. Levuls dey na.

    ReplyDelete

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