• Over 6000 troops storm Borno, Yobe, Adamawa
• Air Force deploys fighter jets to Yola
• Telecom signals blocked, banks closed
Nigerian soldiers yesterday stormed Sambisa Game Reserve in Borno State, the notorious training ground for Boko Haram insurgents in a renewed effort at crippling the operational base of the dreaded sect. A senior military officer was said to have confirmed that more than 2,000 troops have been deployed to retake the territory seized by the insurgents.
The officer revealed that soldiers began an offensive against Boko Haram Islamists, raiding camps in a remote park, while more than 2,000 troops have been deployed to retake the territory seized by the Boko Haram insurgents, the military source told AFP yesterday. “Our men raided some terrorist camps in the Sambisa Game Reserve,” in Borno State, said the senior officer who requested anonymity.“So far, over 2,000 troops have been deployed to Borno,” he added, declining to comment on the forces sent to the other affected states of Yobe and Adamawa, which are also under emergency rule.
However, intelligence report revealed that larger numbers of troops may have been deployed to the two adjourning states in a move designed to encircle the insurgents and make negotiations a fait accompli. To demonstrate its seriousness, however, government sent fighter jets in support of troops fighting the menacing Islamist insurgents in the north-east geo-political zone of the country yesterday, the second day into the military offensive which continues to attract mixed reactions from Nigerians. Reuters reports that two Alpha jets landed in Yola, Adamawa State, indicating the involvement of all the Armed Forces and other security agencies in the state of emergency declared by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday, in the three states.
Air Force spokesman, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, confirmed to Reuters by telephone that “air assets,” including helicopter gunships as well as jets, had been sent in support of the extra troops being deployed for the operation. Anas declined to give any further details. A military source said the planes would bomb Boko Haram bases and training camps. In particular, Daily Newswatch observed a steady beef-up of the number of policemen in and around the state, with at least 300 counter terrorist policemen arriving Maiduguri in trucks and luxurious buses.
The policemen, who were seen heading towards the state police headquarters in a long convoy along the Kano-Maiduguri Road, left many motorists in the city in a serious traffic situation. And against the backdrop of the ongoing military offensive, telephone connections to Borno and Yobe were noticeably almost completely cut off yesterday. Subscribers of service providers like MTN, AIRTEL, ETISALAT, GLO were not able to make calls because of the collapsed communication networks in the town. Daily Newswatch investigations indicated that the breakdown of networks was due to an understanding between security operatives and service providers with a view to ensuring total clampdown on insurgents.
Ahmed Khalifa Zanna, the Senator representing Borno Central, where Boko Harm activities are much, had blamed the Federal Government for its ineptitude in handling the ruthless Islamic sect just last week, revealing that the militants’ training school is less than 45km from Maiduguri, the state capital. “Recently, the militants assembled at a certain point called Sambisa,” he said in an explosive interview. “That is [only] about 40, 45 kilometers away from Maiduguri,” he said. “You know where they are, why can’t you go after them?” he retorted. Senator Zanna was also quoted to have observed the government’s lackadaisical attitude towards going after the sect and shutting them down. The new offensive may have been a response to that wake up call, the Intelligence source revealed. Reports said shops and schools were mostly shut in Maiduguri, with few people on the streets as troops massed through the city onward to Sambisa.
“What I saw this morning scared me,” said one man in Maiduguri, Ahmed Mari. “I have never seen soldiers on the move quite like this before.” However, explaining the operation, government said it will focus on enhancing security of governmental structures after the president said attacks on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians amounted to a declaration of war. Special Adviser to the President, Dr. Doyin Okupe, was quoted yesterday as saying, “We’ve had a lot of problems [of] border crime, and criss-crossing of the border by the insurgents, and there’s also evidence that some of the insurgents really are non-Nigerians.” He argued that, “As long as the terrorists can go in and out unchallenged, then we’re in big trouble.” Residents said there had been continuous streaming and influx of troops and military hardware in Borno State. Reuters reports that Hajja Maimuna, whose house is close to Maiduguri’s Air Force base,” said a lot of fighting equipment have been deployed to Maiduguri. Another man, Ahmed Mari, observed widespread fears that civilians could be caught up in the conflict.
“There is a lot of apprehension about the state of emergency,” he said.”What I saw this morning scared me, I have never seen soldiers on the move quite like this before. We are really terrified… Even though the state governor has not been removed, which is good; the truth is that Maiduguri is now a garrison town, full of angry soldiers who are ready to kill at the slightest provocation.” In Adawama, where a curfew was declared from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., as the other two states were already under curfew, some cautiously welcomed the offensive. Worried over declaration of state of emergency on his domain, the Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, has called for special prayers for God’s protection from the adverse effect of the state of emergency imposed on the state. Nyako spoke yesterday in a broadcast to the people over the state of emergency.
“I beseech you to embark on special prayers to Almighty to protect us from the adverse consequences of the emergency. Our children and young people should do this fervently as they stand to be the greatest victims if things go wrong during the period of the emergency. “What has been happening to their counterparts in our neighbouring states is enough lessons to them and all of us,” Nyako said. While nothing that the declaration came as a shock to the people of the state, Nyako urged the people to remain calm and not to do anything that would be misconstrued as against the emergency. “I believe that the declaration has been a shock to the people of the state and others as it could be discerned from public commentaries.
True, this state has witnessed a few criminal activities by armed hoodlums in the last few years, but so are other states in the federation. “Adamawa has been a peaceful state and has been declared as the most peaceful in the north eastern zone by national and international peace groups,” Nyako said. The governor, however, pledged maximum support to defence and security agencies operating in the state and prayed for God’s protection against those trying to undermine the state. “May the Almighty protect us and defend us against the evil few who want to have our children killed and maimed and our state devastated. “May the actions and conduct of the troops being sent to the state be a blessing to our people and may no person be killed in the process,” Nyako, also a former Chief of Naval Staff, said.
Owolabi Adenusi & Gbenga Adegbule Ijagba
Culled from www.mydailynewswatchng.com
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