Thirteen people died yesterday in gun battles in
Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. The
two cities are in the northeast, hotbed of the fundamentalist group Boko Haram
.
Men of the sect and the Joint Task Force (JTF)) clashed
in Maiduguri after a suicide attack was foiled.
The clash ground the city as civil servants fled their
offices.
A suicide bomber, a passerby and two sect members died.
In Damturu, a clash of two gangs left nine people
dead. A source said the sect was going after impostors.
The gangs of gunmen clashed at Nayi-Nawa, one of
the trouble spots in the town.
Yobe Police spokesman Toyin Gbadegesin, who
confirmed the incident, said the police were alerted by the ward head of
the area and the bodies were deposited at the mortuary.
Gbadegesin said the affected persons are within ages
18-25 bracket.
He said the bodies were riddled with gunshot injuries
and deep knife cuts, indicating intense fighting.
Gbadegesin said one person had been arrested.
The police were silent on the gangs involved in the
clash. A resident, who begged for anonymity, said: “It is a clash of Boko Haram
members and some boys percieved to be criminals who are committing atrocities
in the town under the cover of Boko Haram.”
Commissioner of Police Patrick Egbuniwe also said a
group of gunmen attacked his men in Gwange, but no life was lost.
He described as unfair the statement credited to Yobe
State Deputy Governor Abubakar Aliyu that his convoy was shot at by a drunken
policeman.
According to the CP, he is still investigating the
case, but he wondered where the deputy govenor got his information.
“I really don’t know where he got that information that
the policeman was drunk when we are still investigating the matter. As far as I
know, we have not concluded investigation on that matter and for the deputy
governor to say the policeman was drunk, is very unfortunate.
“The report of the investigation will soon be ready,
but I will have to forward it to the Inspector-General,” Egbuniwe said.
The Maiduguri incident affected business. Traders
closed their shops at the popular Monday market as early as 11am.
Civil servants immediately returned to their homes.
When our correspondent visited the secretariat at about
1pm, many offices were locked. Only a few workers were seen.
A civil servant who pleaded not to be named said many
of us left for our various homes when we heard sporadic gunshots, which sounded
so loud that they seemed to be within the premises.
He said they later heard that there was an attempted
robbery at the Monday market, which was repelled by the JTF.
Confirming the attacks, JTF spokesman Lt.-Col. Sagir
Musa said: “At about 10:00 am today (yesterday), a suicide bomber on a
tricycle (KEKE NAPEP) targeted a JTF patrol vehicle and missed it. In the
process, he rammed into a moving Mercedes Benz car and detonated an Improvised
Explosive Device. The bomber instantly died, one civilian died, two others and
a soldier were injured as a result of the explosion.”
He added: “The bodies and the three injured persons
were taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for treatment.”
Lt.-Col. Musa said one of the incidents was at Customs.
“The Task Force has since cordoned off, swept the
affected area and routine activities are going on unhindered.”
The spokesman said in another incident in the town “two
suspected members of Boko Haram terrorists who stormed the Monday market with
the intention of killing innocent citizens were encountered and killed by
troops of the JTF”.
He said in the incident, which occurred at about 11am,
two AK 47 rifles and 18 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the
assailants.
The JTF in Borno also alerted the public to the planned
attacks by the men of the Boko Haram sect during weekend’s Eid-el-Fitril celebration.
The task force, in a statement said: “Intelligence
information available to the JTF, Op RESTORE ORDER, indicated planned attacks
on military and civilian targets by terrorists during the Sallah.
“People are advised to report any suspicious persons/movement
to the Task Force so as to beef up security arrangement already put in place in
order to achieve the desired peace and security during and after the period.”