Boko Haram kills 30, abducts many in Maiduguri

By Ihesiulo Grace 11 February 2020 32 No comment

…Gov. Zulum lambasts military for withdrawing from town

…Buhari condemns Auno attacks, says FG will bring Boko Haram operations to an end

Boko Haram terrorists killed at least 30 people and abducted many women and children in a raid near Maiduguri, in Borno State, a government spokesman said on Monday.

The attack Sunday evening targeted the village of Auno on a key highway linking Maiduguri, the state capital.

The jihadists stormed the village on trucks mounted with heavy weapons, killing, burning and looting before kidnapping women and children, state government spokesman, Ahmad Bundi said.

They attacked travellers who had stopped for the night and torched their vehicles.

“The attackers killed not less than 30 people who are mostly motorists and destroyed 18 vehicles,” Bundi said in a statement after visiting the scene.

The attack, some 25 kilometres west of Maiduguri, occurred in an area where fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province have been active, mounting roadblocks to target security forces and civilians.

Witnesses said jihadists set alight 30 vehicles in the raid, including trucks that had stopped overnight on their way to Maiduguri.

“Many of the drivers and their assistants who were sleeping the vehicles were burnt alive,” civilian militia fighter, Babakura Kolo narrated.

The jihadists combed through the village, looting and burning shops and property before withdrawing, he said.

Auno lies on the 120-kilometre highway linking Maiduguri to Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe State. The highway has been increasingly targeted by ISWAP militants in recent months.

Meanwhile, more facts have emerged from the Auno attack on Sunday.

Theatre Commander ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’, Maj. Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi, told journalists that only 10 people were killed in the incident.

But, Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, who also visited the scene of the attack, said he was briefed by the villagers that about 30 people were roasted in the fire ignited by the insurgents at about 9.30pm on Sunday.

The villagers informed the governor that an unspecified number of women were abducted during the attack but the report has not been verified nor confirmed by any authority.

Another fact also emerged that the devastating effect of the fire was aggravated by a military fuel tanker which stocked together with the travelling vehicles that were torched by the insurgents.

But, the Theatre Commander ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ denied the report, stating: “I have no knowledge of a military tanker on that road at that time.”

The Theatre Commander told journalists that his men averted another tragedy that would have brought sadness by rescuing three school children briskly abducted by Boko Haram along Gubio Road.

He noted that his men fought skilfully and rescued the three children (two girls and a boy) unhurt. The children have been handed over to their parents by the theatre commander.

Speaking further on the Auno attack, Adeniyi called on the general public to avoid been stuck at certain locations along Maiduguri Road.

He stressed that people should plan their movement very well along the Damaturu -Maiduguri Road so that they will not be stuck at some of these locations.

“We normally close the Damaturu Road by 5.00pm and it is expected that you time your movement very well so that you get to Maiduguri by 5.00 pm because the soldiers cannot leave to fight Boko Haram and come back to protect people sleeping on the road who refuse to obey the law in the first place,” Maj. Gen. Adeniyi advised.

Adeniyi informed that the insurgents came on motor -cycles and parked them from a distance and walked down to burn down vehicles of travellers.

“We will do more to ensure that incident like this does not happen again. I am calling on all stakeholders to make the Maiduguri Damaturu Road safe until the people realise that there is a counter insurgency going on throughout the north east.

“As a result of the dastardly activities of the Boko Haram, certain measures have to be taken to safeguard lives and property and the military to conducting counter insurgency especially on Maiduguri Damaturu road.

Gov. Zulum while sympathising with the people of the community, called on them to give the necessary cooperation to the military.

But, the residents accused soldiers of the town of locking up the town and leaving for Maiduguri, leaving them without protection.

The governor also corroborated the accusations of the residents, saying that he has made several appeals for the military to establish a unit in Auno, but to no avail.

“We have to be brutal in telling the truth. I am pushed to the wall to say the truth. Since I was inaugurated as governor of Borno State, Boko Haram has attacked Auno six times. Another thing is that the military have withdrawn from Auno Town.

“I am not undermining the capacity of the military, but we have made repeated appeals for the military to establish their unit in Auno. They are here, but as soon as it is 5pm, they close the gate and lock the people and go back to Maiduguri. This is not right,” Gov. Zulum raged with anger.

But, the Garison Commander of 7 Div. Nigeria Army Maiduguri, Brig. Gen. Sunday Igbinomwanhia, refuted the allegations, saying the soldiers closed the roads and withdrew to the outskirts of the town to protect the villagers, as well as prevent and launch ambushes on the insurgents.

Eyewitnesses disclosed that a large number of vehicles loaded with goods, shops and houses were set ablaze by the suspected insurgents, who sneaked into the town and launched attack on sleeping travellers at the town which is 24km to Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

Adamu Tella, a commercial driver, who used the road told our correspondent that he saw three corpses been conveyed by Civilian JTF.

“I could not count the number of vehicles that were burnt. But I saw three burnt corpses in a vehicle of civilian JTF. I also saw many houses and shops burnt down to ashes,” Adamu informed.

Adamu also informed that his driver friend’s vehicle was also burnt in the incident.

Another eyewitness, Haruna Yunusa, a passenger, said he saw three burnt dead bodies and counted 21 vehicles including trailers, some of them still under fire as at the time he passed through the town on Monday morning.

Auno is one of the towns located along the Maiduguri/Damaturu road which has recently come under serious attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with family of victims of attacks at Auno village, along Damaturu – Maiduguri Road, assuring them that his administration will continually frustrate the devilish operations of Boko Haram, and bring it to an end.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Monday, President Buhari condemned “murderous and cowardly” attack on innocent passengers by the Boko Haram terrorists near Maiduguri.

According to him, his administration is ever determined to frustrate their goal to hold Nigeria to ransom.

He said: “The commitment of this administration to protect the lives of Nigerians will not be derailed by the cowardly and indiscriminate violence against innocent people by Boko Haram terrorists.”

The president, who also condoled with Borno State Government over the attacks, warned that ”terrorists are clearly on a back foot and their days are numbered”.

He added that: “As our armed forces continue to receive more hardware and intelligence to counter our current security challenges, the remnants of Boko Haram will ultimately be crushed.

”The peculiar challenges of asymmetric warfare notwithstanding, our Armed Forces are ever determined to defeat these enemies of humanity.”