16 persons were
killed and many others injured during an
attempt by Boko Haram insurgents to invade Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
An online source also reported that a bomb exploded Saturday
afternoon near Maiduguri’s main market, after the city was attacked before dawn
by the insurgents using rocket-propelled grenades that killed at least 13
people. The explosion, it was gathered, occurred by the mosque near a market in
the town.
One of our correspondents learnt that one of the insurgents
joined the worshippers pretending to be one of them. The insurgent later
detonated the bomb which killed some of the worshippers and injured many
others.
In a swift reaction, Buhari, on Saturday condemned the
latest attacks on the town.
In a statement issued by the head of his media team, Garba
Shehu, the President warned that his administration would not tolerate wanton
and willful destruction of lives by criminal elements bent on anarchy.
Describing terrorists as cowardly murderers that target
innocent people, Buhari declared that as the Commander-in-Chief, he had sworn
to protect the security of Nigerians everywhere.
The President while calling for increased vigilance by local
communities, assured that his administration would give security close
attention, pledging that his government was committed to boosting the morale of
the armed forces by effectively funding them and attending to their welfare.
He condoled with the families of the victims of the latest
terrorist attacks on the town and assured them that the worst days of the
criminal elements would soon be over.
SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the residents of the town were
woken from their sleep as sounds of heavy gunshots and explosions rocked the
town.
A member of the youth vigilance group, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity to our correspondent on the phone, said that the
insurgents tried to invade the town at about 12:50am on Saturday from Ajilari
Cross and Bintu Sugar axis of the town.
He said the military were able to discover them on time and
repelled them before they could further approach the town.
According to him, the engagement lasted for about two hours
between 12:50am and 2:50am.
He added, “The insurgents were successfully repelled after
heavy gunshots and explosions. They fled back into the dark towards the
direction they came.”
He, however, said he could not ascertain the number of the
casualties.
A resident of Gomari in the town which is in the same
neighbourhood with Bintu Sugar, Abdul Idi, said five residents of the area were
killed in the attack.
Idi said a stray bullet killed a man who slept outside in
the open to get fresh air.
He also stated that four people were killed in a house
affected by the explosion in the area.
According to Idi, eight other people died of stray bullets
and explosives in some areas in the town.
Meanwhile, a security source who spoke with one of our
correspondents on the condition of anonymity on Saturday, said the insurgents
fired rocket-propelled grenades and detonated bombs in the town.
The source said that the fighter pilots of the Nigerian Air
Force were deployed to bomb the insurgents and were able to dismantle them for
ground troops to take over the area.
It was further gathered that several of the residents of the
Airport Road axis of Maiduguri fled their communities in fear for safer places
in the metropolis.
The source stated further that the troops were in control of
the area and were intensifying a cordon and search operation designed to fish
out and arrest the fleeing insurgents.
The source said, ‘‘Fighter jets were deployed to scatter
them for ground troops to move in to take control of the area. As for casualty,
I cannot give you any figure because the insurgents fired at buildings and
killed some people; the military also got some of them.”
All efforts to get across to the Director, Defence
Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, to comment on the development were
futile as calls to his mobile phone did not connect.
PUNCH
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