Boko Haram invades Maiduguri’,reck havoc

Fear and tension broke out in some parts of Maiduguri, the capital of
Borno State, when heavy gunshots rang out on Tuesday night.
The gunshots were heard around the Maimalari Barracks in the heart of
the town and this gave the impression that the military was engaged in
a gun battle with the insurgents.
A resident, Abba Yunus, who lives in that part of the town, told a
source on Wednesday: "Because the gunshots went on for about 30
minutes, we thought that the town was under attack.
"We even thought that the insurgents were attempting to take over the
Maimalari Barracks and that the military was repelling them with the
gunshots."
However, investigations revealed that the soldiers were actually
shooting to scare away the insurgents who were on the prowl in a
community – Bale Mammanti – located on the outskirts of Maiduguri.
It was gathered that the members of the terror group had attacked the
community on Tuesday evening, killing six persons and abducting four
women.
Modu Kakami, a member of a youth vigilante group, said yesterday that
"the militants stormed the village of Bale Mammanti in Jere Local
Government Area of the state, killings six civilians and kidnapping
four women".
A resident of the community who fled to Maiduguri, Ibrahim Kyari, also
revealed that the sect members came at 6.30 pm, killed at least six
civilians and abducted four women.
He said: "We fled into bushes last night because we knew that we were
the target but this morning we discovered that all our cattle, rams
and foodstuffs were carted away."
He explained that among the six persons killed by the insurgents, four
were men while two were children.
Meanwhile, the United States Government and DHQ Wednesday strongly
condemned the recent attacks by the sect in Borno State.
The US equally promised to work closely with the federal government
and other international partners to combat Boko Haram, as well as to
assist with the many victims of "its senseless brutality".
In a statement on the bomb attack on the Sabon Gari market in Borno on
Tuesday, the spokesperson for the US Department of State, Mr. John
Kirby, also condoled with families and friends of the victims of the
bomb attack.
"We (US) offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families
and the friends of the victims.
"We will continue to support Nigeria's efforts to bring those
responsible for the attack, as well as previous attacks, to justice.
"As we have said before, the people of northern Nigeria deserve to
live free from violence and from terror," Kirby said.
He added that "the United States continues to provide a range of
counter-terrorism assistance to help Nigeria and its regional
partners.
"We commend the ongoing efforts of the Nigerian military, as well as
the security and defence forces of Chad, Niger, and Cameroun, for the
gains they have made in the fight against Boko Haram.
"The United States stands with the Nigerian people in their struggle
against violent extremism.
"We will continue to work closely with the Nigerian government and our
international partners to combat Boko Haram and assist the many
victims of its senseless brutality".
Also in a statement by the acting DHQ spokesman, Col. Rabe Abubakar,
DHQ condemned in its "entirety the spate of suicide attacks in the
North-east where scores of innocent lives are lost on regular basis".
It called those perpetrating the heinous crimes "callous, barbaric and
monsters whose activities will soon become a thing of the past".
DHQ assured the public that the military was intensifying efforts to
continue to break the "bones of the terrorists", reassuring Nigerians
that it was not relenting in its efforts to rid the country of
terrorism and any act of criminality.
"Every step is being taken to neutralise the capability of terrorists
whose activities still continue to constitute a danger to the civil
populace, as they are in disarray while running away from their former
safe havens and no longer capable of confronting the troops.
"Defence Headquarters is therefore appealing to the general public to
be extra vigilant and be wary of strange faces and objects in their
localities.
"Asymmetric warfare calls for collective effort of both the general
public and the security agencies in information gathering and sharing.
"The public is advised to always give timely and important information
to the security agencies in order to avert the recurrence of ugly
incidents," DHQ said
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