Acting DHQ spokesman, Col. Rabe Abubakar
US, DHQ condemn onslaught on Borno market
Pandemonium 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 Live news Nigeria 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 abducted 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 information to the security agencies in order to avert the recurrence of ugly incidents,” DHQ said.
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