Troops Kill 50 Terrorists As They Avert Raid On Borno Villages

Just after the mass killings by the dreaded Boko Haram sect in three Borno villages, another mass attack has been successfully averted by troops who received intelligence report of the planned attack of the terrorists. According to the Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, the gunmen were ambushed by troops along Bilta, Borno State while on their way to launch the attack.


His defence spokesman said,

“The attack was launched on the terrorists as they filed out of the forest to embark on their mission at about 10 pm on Saturday. Over 50 terrorists died in the fierce encounter that ensued, while 30 rifles, 36 hand grenades, seven machine guns and 11 rocket-propelled grenade tubes were captured by the troops.

“Also recovered from the terrorists were over 3,500 rounds of ammunition, six  smoke grenade canisters and locally-fabricated guns as well as four vehicles used by the terrorists in the foiled attack.
“The four soldiers who were wounded in the operation are currently receiving medical treatment in the military medical facility,” the defence spokesman said.

Also, our reports tells us that a suspected Boko Haram impersonator who infiltrated the Department of State Security Service (DSS) has been taken into custody and according to the Coordinator of the National Information Centre and Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri, the suspect was undergoing interrogation.

According to him, the apprehended infiltrator was extorting money from some infuential Nigerian citizens while claiming he would provide them with protection from any attacks by the terrorists.

He further said,

“The Department of State Security has apprehended someone masquerading as a front for the dreaded Boko Haram. The suspect who is undergoing interrogation has been going about extorting money from some influential Nigerians as protection money.”

While speaking on the repatriation of the terror fugitive, the Spokesperson of DSS, Ms. Marilyn Ogar, said Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, the terrorist who allegedly masterminded the bus station blast in Nyanya would not be brought into the country surreptitiously.

She further confirmed that Ogwuche’s father, Col. Agene Ogwuche (rtd), who is still in custody, would not be granted bail until Sadiq is repatriated.

She also said that Rufai Abubarkar Tsiga, the co-mastermind of the Nyanya bombing, is still on their wanted list. Meanwhile, it emerged that over 100 bodies have been buried almost a week after Boko Haram launched attacks on three villages in Borno State. This was confirmed yesterday by community leaders who added that any more victims of the attack were yet to be found.

According to Gwoza Local Government Area resident Lawan Abba Kaka and John Gulla who hails from Attagara, at least 110 people were killed as a result of the terrorists attacks on the village including three other communities, on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

According to the Senator who represents Borno South in Nigeria’s Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, burials had taken place in nine villages: 42 in Attagara, 24 in Aganjara and 20 in Agapalwa.

He further said,

“From what those who fled told us, there are more corpses in nearby bushes and the mountainside,” he told reporters after a meeting in Maiduguri. “Many people that fled the communities are also trapped on the hills, as they are without food or water.”

Meanwhile, some community leaders of the Gwoza district claimed hundreds of people died during the attacks putting the death toll as high as 400 to 500, although such claims haven't been independently verified.

House of Representatives member, Peter Biye, who represents Gwoza recently described the bloodshed as “massive” but added that the precise figures of casualties were impossible to compile as insurgents were still in the villages and villagers fled.

A villager described the attacks as terrible. She said heavily armed gunmen killed baby boys being carried on their mothers’ backs and shot down villagers as they tried to flee for their lives.

According to the Borno Commissioner for Commerce and Investment and Gwoza local leader, Asabe Vilita, 1,290 people were displaced by the violence while many had fled to Maiduguri.

As a result of this, three camps have been set up and local leaders are now working with the military forces to ensure the safe return of those who had fled.

According to a villager, Ndume, the villages are mixed with Christian and Muslim communities and that they have always lived in peace until their villages became an area of massacre.

“They may have their disagreements but the latest attacks were perpetrated by Boko Haram. It is sad because our people were mercilessly murdered and many houses razed,” added Ndume.