Boko Haram Kills Six Civilian JTF Members In Borno

Suspected members of Islamist sect Boko
Haram on Tuesday shot dead six members
of the youth vigilante group, popularly
called Civilian JTF in Borno State, in the
border town of Damasak, Mobar Local
Government Area of the state. Damasak is about 187 kilometres away
from Maiduguri, the state capital, and share
border with Niger Republic. The area is
believed to be the safe haven of the
insurgents after they were dislodged from
their bush camps and Maiduguri by the special forces. The youths who are mostly traders and
residents of Maiduguri, but volunteered to
help the Joint Task Force, JTF, in fighting
terrorism in the region, met their untimely
death when they were shot dead by four
gunmen in a house where they had gone to pass the night around 1 a.m. by four
gunmen. The names of the killed youths were given
as Ismail Alhaji Bunu, 36, Malam Goni, 27,
Buzu Bukar, 27, Mohammed Modu, 20, Aliyu
Jibrin, 30 and Bukar Bako, 20. It was learnt that five of the victims were
traders of necklaces while one of them was
a driver, who usually conveyed them to the
town’s market every Monday. A member of the vigilante group, Kariyama
Mohammed, who also went to Damasak, but
did not pass the night in the same house
with the victims, said: “We were travelling
together to Damasak to sell necklaces, but I
did not sleep in the same house with them. It was in the morning that I learnt of their
death.” Another resident of the town, who spoke to
journalists, said the assailants, who were
four in number, shot their victims dead
when they were fast asleep, before they
fled into the bush. The bodies of the victims were later seen at
the sector 1 headquarters of the Joint Task
Force (JTF) in Baga road, from where they
were conveyed to Maiduguri by policemen
from Damasak and later taken to their
family houses for burial. Expressing regrets over the death of the
youths, Chairman of the vigilante group in
Baga road, Alhaji A.D. Bakura said, the
deceased were members of the group who
worked tirelessly to defend the state from
the insurgents.

Boko Haram Strikes Again – At Least 11 Civilians, 2 Terrorists Dead in Borno

At least 13 persons were reportedly killed
when members of the infamous terrorist
group, Boko Haram, attacked Damboa
Village, about 85 km north of Maiduguri, the
Borno State capital. The attack happened on
the night of August 15, 2013, Thursday.

According to Ayamu Gwasha, who
represents Konduga in the Borno State
House of Assembly, the alleged Boko
Haram gunmen invaded the agrarian village
famous for producing most of the grocery
requirements of the state at about 7.30 p.m.; and attacked several places including
the security formations. “Our people have been killed last night by
these people. We had anticipated this
attack, because we are border neighbour to
Konduga where 44 persons were killed early
this week, that was why we immediately
alerted the security agencies for security beef up, which was being considered before
they attacked,” said Mr. Gwasha. Another source, representing security
forces, name and position withheld,
confirmed the incident. “The incident happened at about 7.30 p.m.
About 50 Boko Haram terrorists drove into
Damboa in nine Volkswagen Golf cars and
four motorcycles. They attacked Damboa
police station, but the officers there
effectively repelled them; they also attempted attacking the military post in the
town but the soldiers also repelled them.
While that was going on, another group were
busy attacking the village and burning some
of the houses. “After the attack, which lasted till 12 a.m.,
eleven civilians died, two members of the
Boko Haram were killed by the police,” said
the security source. “About 20 houses including that of the local
government chairman and several shops
were burnt down. The terrorists had also
looted most of the shops and filled a truck
with food items, but they were not lucky to
escape with the loot as the laden vehicle got stuck in the muddy road.” A local farmer, Mustapha Aji, who was lucky
enough to escaped through the bushes to
Maiduguri town, told the reporters that
villagers had to flee their homes and spend
the night in the bushes while the attack was
going on. He said he believed that foreign mercenaries were among the terrorists who
attacked. “The shooting was too much; it started
immediately after the Isha (late night)
prayers. The shooters came in several cars
and began to shoot and burning houses and
shops. Some of them are aliens, because
they were speaking Arab fluently. They were carrying big, big guns, some were
throwing bombs. Everywhere was on fire I
had to run for my life,” said 46-year-old Mr.
Aji. Damboa had suffered several similar
attacks in the past one year which led to
killing of several persons and destruction of
properties. Mr. Sagir Musa, the spokesman of JTF in
Borno, could not be reached on the latest
attack, as his telephone numbers are not
available due to network problems in Borno.

Boko Haram Second-in-command Killed In Borno

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State has
claimed it had killed Momodu Bama, second-
in-command to the Boko Haram leader,
Abubakar Shekau, during a recent
confrontation in the state. The task force also claimed that Bama’s father,
Abatcha Flatari, a spiritual leader of the sect,
was also killed during the confrontation. The JTF claimed that Bama and his father were
killed in a counter attack in Bama, when the
sect attacked the riot police base in Bama,
headquarters of Bama Local Government Area
of the state on August 4, adding that the
killing was contrary to report in some quarters that another Muhammad Bama, on whose
head a bounty of N10 million was placed, was
killed in Mubi, Adamawa State. Spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa,
while confirming the killing said Momodu was
killed along with his father during an attack
on police base, adding that even before his
killing, the JTF had placed N25 million bounty
on his head and not N10 million as claimed by the report. Defending why the JTF have not said anything
about it since Bama’s killing, Musa said it took
the JTF this long to break the news of the
killing of Bama and his father to the media
because they wanted to be sure they were
actually the ones fell in the confrontation in order to guard against misinformation. Musa, showing a flyer where Bama and his
leader, Abubakar Shekau, were declared
wanted with bounties of N25 million and N50
million respectively, said Bama was the
second-in-command to Shekau and next in
notoriety to the sect leader. The JTF spokesman stated that Momodu was
an indigene of Bama town and a member of
the Boko Haram Shurra committee (decision-
making or highest body of the sect), adding
that he was a tall, slim and dark man, who
spoke Kanuri, Hausa, Arabic and English languages well. He added that Bama was one of the most
vicious and heartless killers in the group with
a penchant for slaughtering his victims. The spokesman said the father of the slain
Boko Haram sect leader, Abatcha Flatari, was
one of the spiritual mentors of the Boko
Haram terrorists in charge of indoctrinating
child foot soldiers, who were in most cases
abducted. Musa, however, assured residents of the state
that major roads and GSM lines would soon be
opened, noting that the security situation was
improving. Also confirming the killing of Bama, the
Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-
Gen. Chris Olukolade, disclosed that Bama was
killed during a shoot-out with the troops of
JTF who were determined to dislodge the
terrorists, who recently massacred about 60 people in some parts of Borno State. “As troops intensify pursuit of terrorists who
have been unleashing mayhem in Borno and
Yobe communities, the death of Momodu
Bama, said to be the second-in-command to
the leader of Shekau, has been confirmed by
other arrested terrorists. “This followed encounters with the terrorists
around the Bama corridor. Momodu Bama has
been personally leading the attacks against
troops and innocent citizens in the
communities of Yobe and Adamawa,”
Olukolade said. The slain leader of the insurgents was said to
have assumed his current duties, when the
former second-in-command to Mohammed
Marwana, broke ranks with Shekau into a rival
Boko Haram sect that was alleged to be
negotiating with Alhaji Taminu Turaki-led Presidential Committee on Dialogue and
Peaceful Resolution on Security Challenges in
the North (Amnesty Committee).

JTF Relaxes Curfew In Yobe

 The Military Joint Task Force (JTF) in Yobe state has relaxed the 24-hour curfew earlier imposed on Potiskum town.

A statement issued by the Spokesman of the Task Force in the state, Captain Eli Lazarus said the relaxation of the curfew is sequel to the completion of the operation carried out within Potiskum metropolis.

It however says the 10:00PM – 6:00AM curfew across the state is still in force and appreciates the patience and cooperation of residents throughout the period of the 24 hour curfew imposed on the town.

“Upon the completion of special operations in Potiskum town, the Joint Task Force (JTF) relaxes the twenty four hour curfew imposed on the town recently with effect from today Wednesday 7 August 2013.

“However, the earlier curfew imposed on the state which commences from 10 O’clock in the evening to 6 O’clock in the morning is still in force”

The statement also wishes the Muslim community a happy Eid-El-Fitr celebration.

The Joint Task Force could not disclose whether arrest or recoveries of arms were made during the 24 hour curfew.

A JTF source who pleaded anonymity however told Channels Television that some arms and arrests were made during the search operation carried out on the town.