BREAKING NEWS: Maiduguri Boils Again: 5 People Slaughtered, 7 Shot To Death, 13 Arrested

No fewer than 12 persons were killed and a school completely burned down in the renewed violence that shook Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

The mayhem happened in three separate areas of the state when gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram slaughtered five people in Jiddari Polo, gunned down four others in London Ciki area and also killed yet another person at Baga Road area of the state.

The JTF in a statement claimed to have killed two of the suspected Boko Haram terrorists and arrested 13 others in Polo and Shehuri ward following the violence and explosion that rocked the state capital at the eve of Eid-El- Maulud celebration.

Our correspondent gathered that at about 10:00 pm on Tuesday, gunmen in large number attacked some houses at Polo Jiddari ward in Maiduguri where they slaughtered five people. It was also learnt that another set of the attackers gun down four people in London ciki area and one person at Baga road at about 5:00 pm.

A resident of Federal low cost housing estate, who did not want his name in print, told newsmen that, three golf cars and three Keke Napep belonging to the gunmen who abandon their ride and run into some houses in Jajeri ward were burnt down by soldiers who pursued the gunmen and also shelled the houses where they took cover.

“Nobody knows the number of gunmen or the people killed in the raid at the residence where the gunmen took cover but we believe many people perhaps innocent ones inclusive might have been trapped in the houses while JTF was shelling the house. Many, we believed, have died,” he asserted.

However, when the Joint task Force on Operation Restore Order in Borno state sent in their release confirming the incident, the statement reads: “Information available to the Joint Task Force Operation RESTORE ORDER indicated that some suspected gunmen killed three people at about 3.am today Wednesday, 23 January, 2013 in Jiddari – Pulo, Maiduguri metropolis. The JTF was alerted; it cordoned off the area, arrested three suspects and recovered one assault rifle with ten rounds of ammunition. Two gunmen lost their lives and a soldier was wounded during an exchange of fire. The suspects are in JTF custody and effort is on to apprehend the fleeing members of the gang.”

A relation of two of the victims slaughtered in Jiddari Polo, Hajiya Uwani Shuiabu told newsmen that, she received a call from one of the deceased’s wife at about 10:00 pm on Tuesday that, “they came and they have killed your brothers.”

According to her, they died a brutal death because their heads were cut off. She also called on government and security agencies to come to the aid of unarmed residents and beam their search light particularly in Jiddari Polo where it is believed that a lot of gunmen have relocated and are killing innocent people.

In another development gunmen attacked Binta Sugar area of Maiduguri and burnt down Gomari II Primary School in the area at about 7:00 pm on Tuesday evening.

Also at about 11:00 am violence erupted at Shehuri Ward of Maiduguri metropolitan following a bomb blast, which was believed to have been planted by suspected members of Boko Haram.

While confirming the incident, spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said, “Information available to JTF Operation Restore Order revealed that there was an IED explosion at about 12:00 Wednesday, January 23, 2013 in Shehuri ward of Maiduguri Metropolitan. The JTF rushed to the scene, cordon and search the area and arrested 10 suspects. Operation is ongoing, the suspects are in JTF custody undergoing interrogation, no life was lost and nobody was injured.”

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Gunmen attack prison, police station in Maiduguri

Suspected Islamists have attacked a prison, police station and local government office wounding at least three police officers, officials and residents said Wednesday.

“The (police) station was set ablaze,” police spokesman Samuel Tizhe told AFP of the attack in Konduga on Tuesday night.

“They attacked the secretariat and prison … They started with firing, then they put explosives.”

Residents said they suspected the attackers were members of Islamist group Boko Haram, though Tizhe declined to comment on who the suspects were. The spokesman said at least three policemen were wounded and no deaths reported.

Konduga is located some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Maiduguri, which has served as the base of Boko Haram, blamed for scores of attacks that have killed hundreds, mainly in the north.

Residents said gunmen stormed Konduga on Tuesday evening, shooting and bombing the police station and local government office. One resident said a church was also attacked, but police have not confirmed the information.

Hundreds of people fled the violence, but calm had returned on Wednesday morning.

“We had just finished our evening prayers when explosions and shootings erupted which set the divisional police station, the local government secretariat and a church on fire,” one fleeing resident told AFP by telephone.

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JTF detonates bombs in Maiduguri, arrests 6 Boko Haram members

The Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order in Borno State has commenced the detonation of five Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which it uncovered at Kaleri ward of London Chiki in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Speaking on the issue, the Field Operation Officer of the JTF, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, advised residents to temporarily vacate the area and come back after the detonation.

He also urged residents of Maiduguri not to panic as a result of the ongoing detonation.

The Field Operation Officer also said that the task force had arrested six high-profile suspected members of the Boko Haram sect, following tip-off by residents of the area, adding that, the arrest was a great achievement in recent times and an evidence that the people had started cooperating with the security outfit to fish out those terrorising Maiduguri and its environs.

A resident who did not want his name in print told the Nigerian Tribune that they had been living in fear in the past two years while killing and maiming of innocent citizens by Boko Haram members continued unabated.

He stated that while many people had been forced to relocate to safer areas, they had been emboldened to give information to JTF, leading to the arrest of some of the assailants.

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Boko Haram kills 2 soldiers in Maiduguri

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Some gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram Islamic sect, on Tuesday afternoon shot two soldiers attached to the Joint Task Force (JTF)who were stationed at a military check – point in Ajilari- Railway cross, a suburb of Maiduguri metropolis.

According to an eye witness who preferred anonymity said the yet to be identified gunmen came on a tricycle each with an AK 47 rifles took the soldiers unawares, and opened fire on them which led to the death of two soldiers.

Confirming the incident, the JTF Field Operation Commander, Col. Victor Ebheleme, said some unknown gunmen attacked members of the JTF and shot two soldiers, stressing that his men responded quickly and condoned off the area with a view to arresting the culprits.

Ebheleme however, denied any death arising from the attack, saying that the wounded soldiers were receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the city.

He assured that JTF was on top of the current security situation and urged the general public not to panic, but to go about their normal businesses.

“As I am talking to you now, we are in the bush pursuing those who perpetrated this dastardly act, and we are doing our best to see that we arrest them, that is why you are witnessing massive traffic hold-up in the city, and we are sure that we will get them”, he assured.

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2 killed, 3 injured as another explosion rocks Maiduguri

UNKNOWN gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect, on Wednesday evening, laid ambush on Santimari Polo Road and killed two people, while three others were seriously wounded, even as another bomb exploded in Gwange ward at the same time. 

The Gwange explosion, which took place at Layin Bus around 7.45 p.m., was believed to have been planted by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, who have been terrorising the northern part of the country, particularly Borno.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the yet to be identified gunmen, who laid siege to the Polo area, came in an unmarked Vokswagen Golf car at about 7.49 p.m., where they opened fire on some people who were playing cards in front of a shop belonging to a GSM recharge card dealer, which led to the killing of two people, including the head teacher of Cocin Church Primary School in Polo, Mallam Caleb. 

The gunmen, according to investigation, were targeting a State Security Service (SSS) officer, who normally visits the shop, especially in the night to chat with his friends after closing from work.

An eyewitness, who did not want his name mentioned, said he was just walking along the main road when he saw some gunmen open fire from the direction he was coming, and he quickly lay down flat to avoid being hit by stray bullets. He said: 

“I just heard them saying to people, ‘don’t run; don’t worry, we are not here for you; we have our target.’ I believe they came to hunt for one SSS man, who normally comes here to play cards with some of his friends, but they ended up killing innocent people who they thought was the SSS man. 

The SSS man was, however, lucky as I learnt that he didn’t visit the shop that day,” he said. Polo was one of the areas where many people believed was a haven, as most of the residents of the area are predominantly Christians, but it has now turned a dangerous zone, as it has experienced several attacks in the past two months. 

Confirming the incident to newsmen, the spokesman for the Joint Task Force on Operation Restore Order in Borno State, Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Mohammed, said some members of the Boko Haram sect detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at about 7.45 p.m. on Wednesday in Gwange ward. 

He stressed that the sect members were targeting one of their patrol vehicles, but missed it, as bomb exploded after their patrol vehicle had left the area. He said that no casualty was recorded in the blast. He also said some yet to be identified gunmen came to Polo in a Volkswagen Golf car at the same time when the Gwange blast occurred and opened fire on some members of the public. 

He said the sound of the gunshots attracted his men who were based in the area and they quickly rushed to the scene. Hassan said on reaching the scene, his men pursued two of the suspects, but when the suspects discovered that they would be captured, they abandoned their Golf car and took to their heels. He said no arrest was made, but normalcy had restored in the troubled areas and the people were now going about their usual businesses. Share

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Bomb blast again in Maiduguri -Residents flee troubled area

TROUBLE started at about 8.00 a.m. on Monday following bomb blasts at Dala Alemderi ward of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, where an unconfirmed report put the death toll at six, following sporadic gunshots immediately the blast occurred.

Fleeing residents of Alemderi who spoke to Nigerian Tribune said that the blast shattered the patrol vehicle of the Joint Task Force on Operation Restore Order in Borno, living an army officer dead.

According to the man who identified himself as Mohammed Sani, “immediately after the blasts, we could not tell exactly whether it was an exchange of fire between the JTF and Boko Haram members, or it was the military that were firing, but people were killed, shops were burnt and several cars also were damaged. The military went mad because it affected one of them as such we had to flee the area because we all knew what would happen next.”

The JTF spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Hassan, told Nigerian Tribune that the bomb was planted near a high tension cable on the road heading to Dala Kabamti (the local beer joint where hundreds of people were massacred by unknown gunmen).

According to Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan, the sect planted the bomb targeting the JTF which unfortunately got at them, adding that there would be a news release from the JTF to that effect and that they would explain everything later.

But when Nigerian Tribune contacted the Field Operation Commander, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, he said that the blasts ripped apart the JTF vehicle killing a NAF officer.

He explained that this was what the JTF had been fighting and nobody was spared by the sect members. “We would get them and they would definitely face the music,” he added.

At the time of filing this report, several attempts to get the Borno State Police Commissioner, Mr Simeon Midenda, to speak on the issue did not yield result as his phone kept ringing without response.

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