There is palpable tension in both Borno and Kaduna States as some armed men, suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists have struck again, sources confirmed after President Muhammadu Buhari visited Maiduguri, capital city of Borno.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the suspected Boko Haram terrorists in a golf car attacked junction market around Maro in Adara land, Kaduna state, killing a lot of people.
According to several sources who spoke with TNG, the armed men came in military uniform. While casualty figures are yet to be ascertained, at the time of filing this report, at least 5 persons have been confirmed dead in the attack.
“The corpses are still being counted,” a source revealed to TNG, saying the attack took place around 7:30pm on Wednesday.
Similarly, shortly after President Buhari’s sympathy visit to Borno, at about 6:30 pm on Wednesday, hundreds of residents of Jiddari Polo general area of Maiduguri metropolis were seen in a video that has since gone viral fleeing their homes into the city.
This is following sporadic shootings suspected to have been masterminded by Boko Haram in the Jiddari Polo General Area, an outskirt of the metropolis with densely population and not far away from the 21 Giwa armoured Barracks.
“Our community is currently under Boko Haram attack, there are deafening sounds if gunshots and explosions, but I was lucky to have mobilized my family and fled into the heart if the city to reunite with one if my relatives,” one resident that goes by the name Mallam Yusuf Unman said.
Although the sounds of the gunshots have subsided as at 7:12 pm, many residents who fled into the city are still stranded at press time.
One of the fleeing residents, Adamu Garba told Vanguard at about 7:30pm that they sighted large number of armed policemen, members of the civilian JTF with military troops heading towards the area of the attack as he struggled to enter the town with his family in his private car.
Meanwhile, Borno Governor Professor Babagana Umara Zulum has said there was need for change of strategies in the ongoing fight against Boko haram.
The Governor who however acknowledged successes recorded by the same military in the state spoke in presence of President Muhammadu Buhari at the Shehu of Borno’s palace in Maiduguri.
“Your Excellency sir, between the period of March 2019 to date we have started witnessing horrific and spontaneous attacks by the insurgents which has resulted into the loss of lives and properties of our people.
“We are calling upon the Nigerian military to change strategies and we can borrow a leaf from the success our military was able to hugely record in the years 2016 and 2017 with a view to ending the insurgency. We need to keep taking the war to enclaves of the insurgents in the fringes of the Lake Chad, in Sambisa forest and some notable areas” Zulum said.
Governor Zulum, however, commended the President for his commitment to ending the insurgency. He recalled the gains recorded in the years 2016 and 2017 and also thanked him for being consistent in showing empathy to the people of Borno.
“Let me appreciate Mr President for associating with us at this our very trying moment. I am so surprised that we have forgotten the past” Zulum said.
The Governor although he could not ignore the current unfortunate situation, the people of Borno state still remember the days before Buhari’s emergence, when 20 out of the 27 local government areas in the state were in the hands of Boko haram while all the five routes into Borno state were largely inaccessible with exception of Maiduguri-Kano road. In addition, he cited sporadic bombings and killings even within the capital, Maiduguri.
“Close to about 20 Local Government areas were resettled under Buhari. In fact, in the year 2016/2017, we celebrated the demise of the Boko Haram insurgency that has unfortunately returned” Zulum said.
Also, Buhari had said more proactive and decisive measures are to be taken by the Federal Government to put an end to the Boko Haram menace in the country once and for all.
The President who gave the assurance in Maiduguri during the sympathy visit however maintained that intelligence sharing and synergy between law enforcement agencies and the civil populace are critical towards achieving the objectives.
“I assure you that improvement in security will be pursued vigorously. The military will work harder and strategise with tactics to deal with the insurgents. This is however not possible without good intelligence and cooperation with local community leaders.
“Boko Haram cannot come up to Maiduguri or environs without the local leadership knowing because traditionally, the local leadership is in charge of security in their own respective areas.
“I want to call on the leadership at various levels to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and let us deny Boko Haram access to our loyal citizens,” the President said.
“We will do our best and I hope history will be kind to us; to recall what was on the ground when we came and what will be on the ground when we leave,” he added.
President Buhari, who was at the palace of the Shehu of Borno, His Royal Highness Abubakar Ibn Umar Gabai, accompanied by the state Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, sympathised with him and other victims of the attack, prayed for the repose of the soul of the victims.
In his remarks, Governor Zulum thanked the President for identifying with the state in these trying times. He praised the efforts of the military so far, wondering why some people would be comparing the security situation now with what obtained before the Buhari administration came on board:
“Roads were closed, there were sporadic bombings everywhere even within the metropolis. Close to 20 local government areas were under Boko Haram. We are surprised that there seems to be resurgence in 2019.”
He tasked the military to borrow from their successes especially between 2015 and 2017, take the battle to the insurgents and push them to the fringes of Lake Chad.
He also urged the security agencies to be patient with the civilian populace and give opportunities to the Internally Displaced Persons to access their communities in order to return to their occupations.
