B’ Haram Recaptures Borno Border Town

The Boko Haram insurgents, yesterday, recaptured Marte, a border town in Borno State which was recently recovered from it by the Nigerian Army. Marte, a distance of some 177 kilometer from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, was the first to be captured in 2013 by the fundamentalists.

The recapturing of the town yesterday by the Islamic fundamentalists group coincided with the second day that the federal government imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on the troubled state.

Military authorities however said that the 24-hour curfew imposed on the city on Thursday would continue until it is sure that some 600 suspected female suicide bombers working for the insurgents have not infiltrated the state capital.

The curfew which was relaxed for five hours starting from noon to allow people attend the Friday mosque as well as travellers stranded outside the town to get to their homes, had to continue probably through the weekend.

LEADERSHIP Weekend have also gathered from impeccable military and hospital sources, that at least six soldiers, three members of the Civilian-JTF and 27 other civilians believed to be members of the Boko Haram insurgents have been killed during the aborted attack on Maiduguri on Wednesday.
It was reliably gathered that the insurgents have hoisted their flags on the recaptured territory.

Borno state deputy governor, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, had confirmed the situation in Marte as well as the feared influx of 600 female suicide bombers when he spoke to journalists on Thursday on why the curfew had to be sustained. “It is sad as we have been made to understand that Marte is today completely fallen under the control of the insurgents, which to us is a very huge set back”, he said.

A hospital source had reliably informed LEADERSHIP Weekend that at least six soldiers and three operatives of the Civilian-JTF had been killed during the attack by Boko Haram at the outskirts villages of Kayamla, Balle and Wadia, all located some few kilometres away from Maiduguri.

Boko Haram terrorist, according to soldiers who participated in the Wednesday operation, were not only using women as cannon fodders, but also using them for suicide attack during such operations. “Some of the Civilian-JTF operatives that were died during the attack were killed by female suicide bombers whom we earlier thought were villagers in distress”, said a soldier who would not want his name mentioned because it was an offence for him to speak directly to the press.

“It was later we realised that most of the women that were with the Boko Haram were suicide bombers. That was how our men suffered deaths in Sambisa when our troops began to storm the forest weeks back. Some of the terrorists that were injured had informed our officers that there were over 600 of such women that were billed to storm Maiduguri on suicide mission”, said the soldier.

The soldier also confirmed that “we lost six of our men and some others were injured as well, but many of the insurgents too died”. A hospital security worker, Abba Shehu, had confirmed to our reporter that “many corpses of civilians have been deposited at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital morgue.

“More than 20 corpses were brought in to the hospital on Thursday afternoon and all were victims of the Wednesday attack. Many others were injured and have been receiving treatment.
A secretary of the local hunters group, known as Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Borno state branch had also confirmed to our reporter in a phone interview that “more than 20 persons were killed apart from the soldiers and the civilian-JTF. Our officers in Wadia and Balle areas which are all close to Kayamla had informed us that more than 20 civilians residing in Wadia have been killed by military artillery.

Borno state deputy governor, Zannah Umar Mustapha, who had to cut short his official engagements in Abuja to return to Maiduguri yesterday, had explained to journalists why residents must be patient and allow the curfew to go on for some days.
“It is unfortunate that we are experiencing yet another attack in Maiduguri at this time that we are thinking that the insurgency should have subsided following the taking over of Sambisa forest by the military”, said the deputy governor.

“Our thinking was that every other place should have been blocked so that the insurgency would be curtailed to a restricted area. But that has not been the case, because the insurgents have been fleeing to other communities.
Initially we were opposed to the suggestion made by the military; but when we received a security report that about 600 women have been kitted as suicide bombers and are to be sneaked into Maiduguri during the attack, coupled with the gory pictures of some of the women who detonated themselves during the attack, we had no option than to okay the curfew.

“But the curfew has been relaxed from noon to about 5pm to ease the hardship and afterwards it may be reviewed. Our government is going to do everything humanly possible by supporting the military to see that Maiduguri and other secured part of Borno state is not attacked or taken over by the insurgents.

LEADERSHIP Weekend had gathered that the terrorists were busy regrouping and gaining grounds in the northern parts of Borno state where they have been maiming and serially killing hapless residents there. A commander of the VGN, Maidugu Bida, had informed our reporter in Maiduguri that “Boko Haram terrorists are having field day in Monguno axis. They slaughtered four persons in a hamlet not far away from Monguno last Wednesday.
Another member of the vigilante in the southern part of Borno state had also informed journalists that the terrorists had attacked and set ablaze five villages and slaughtered at least 20 persons near Gwoza, another major town that was recently said to have been liberated by the Nigerian army.
 

 “I had just returned from Gwoza area where I live and l can confirm to you that I left there after burying 20 persons slaughtered by Boko Haram terrorists in Valle and Jimnini hamlets near Kirawa village under Gwoza local government area”, said Mamman Bukar Karau, a local hunter and member of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, VGN.

Residents of Maiduguri, who have been forced to remain indoors, have begun to lament that the are running out of food and water supplies as the curfew drags into day two. “We really don’t know what to do in this situation when we are forced to stay indoors without any preparation for what to eat during the curfew period”, said Babagana Zanna, a grocery vendor who lives close to the Giwa barracks.

The spokesman of the 7 Division, Nigeria Army, Maiduguri, Col Tukur Gusau, in a statement to journalists through SMS, announced that the curfew has been relaxed for only five hours starting from 12pm to 5pm Nigerian time. According to him, only movement on foot would be allowed, vehicles are still banned from movement.
But many residents of Maiduguri are still not aware of the relaxed curfew hours. Many final year students of secondary schools who have commenced their certificate exams are also finding it difficult reaching their schools to take the days papers. Some of them had to trek tens of kilometres before getting to their examination centres due to the ban on vehicular movement.

‘At least 55 killed’
At least 55 people were killed in two Boko Haram raids, local and vigilante sources said Friday.
“Boko Haram fighters raided Bale and Kayamla villages where they killed at least 55 people and burnt several homes after looting them before proceeding to the outskirts of Maiduguri where they were crushed by troops,” vigilante official Abacha Zinnari said.
“They killed 30 people in Kayamla and another 25 in Bale,” he added.

Bale resident Husseini Ari said the village on Thursday buried 25 people killed in the previous day’s raid while several others who were injured were taken to hospital.