Anti Aircraft Guns Recovered After Jonathan's Visit To Borno

 

A few hours after President Goodluck Jonathan left Maiduguri after his two-day visit to Borno and Yobe states, the Joint Task Force impounded three anti-aircraft guns as part of a major haul of arms and ammunition seized from people suspected to be Boko Haram members.

President Jonathan had left Maiduguri, Borno State capital, for Abuja at about 12.30 pm on Friday.

After the visit, JTF was said to have moved to flush out those it called insurgents in the state during which it engaged suspected Boko Haram members in an attack that lasted five hours, from 3 to 8 pm.

According to JTF, apart from the anti-aircraft guns, other weapons, ammunition, uniforms and other items recovered in the operation against militants included 10 rocket propelled grenade tubes, three general purpose machine guns, 17 AK47 rifles, three G3 rifles, a pistol (Lama), 20 RPG bombs, 12 RPG chargers, 1x 36 hand-held grenade, and a teargas rifle.

Other items recovered were 33 AK 47 magazines, 11 FN magazines, three G3 magazines, 11,068 assorted ammunitions, two technical vehicles with mounted anti aircraft stands, a box of weapons cleaning kit, four swords and two knifes, five walkie-talkies, four VHF hand-held sets, a multi links router and assorted uniforms and kits.

The raid and attack also led to the death of 52 gunmen including 10 said to be commanders of the Boko Haram sect.

Seventy alleged terrorists were also said to have been arrested. JTF said it lost two personnel while three others were wounded in the attack.

The attack, according to residents of the area, was akin to those witnessed in action-packed movies as grenades, bombs and bullets were freely used by the two camps.

Confirming the development in a statement Saturday, JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said: "Based on information and intelligence report, series of operations were conducted by the Joint Task Force Operation Restore Order in the last ten days in Borno State.

"The latest was the one conducted at Bulabulin, Bayan Quarters and Jajeri in Maiduguri Metropolis between 3 – 8 pm yesterday Friday, 8 February, 2013. During these operations under the period stated, there were exchange of fire that led to the death of 52 Boko Haram terrorists including ten commanders of the sect. 70 terrorists were also arrested. In the period under review, the JTF lost 2 personnel, 3 were wounded and no civilian casualty was recorded."

Musa said the success of the siege was as a result of information from the members of the public particularly those he called JTF's moles in the Boko Haram’s camp who called to continue to assist the task force with credible and timely information.

During his visit, President Jonathan had replied the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who had called for amnesty for Boko Haram members, with the president saying government would not give amnesty to ghosts since the sect members are largely faceless.

Jonathan also disagreed with the Borno elders over the continued stay of JTF in the state.

He said he would only withdraw the soldiers if the elders were willing to enter into an agreement with the government that they be held responsible should there be any killing by the Boko Haram sect.

The Borno elders had made the request for the withdrawal of JTF during a town hall meeting with Jonathan as part of his visit to the state.

And a few hours after the president left Maiduguri, seven loud explosions shook the city, with the explosions happening within minutes of each other.

Why Maiduguri Was Calm During President's Visit

Meanwhile, the reasons why Maiduguri was calm throughout the period of President Jonathan’s visit to the state have emerged.

THISDAY’s checks revealed that as the president visit drew near, every security apparatus of the nation was virtually moved to the state to make the visit hitch-free.

Security sources also said the perceived hotbeds of Boko Haram, which included Budum, Jajeri, Bulabulin, Bayan quarters among others were put under surveillance to prevent a breach of peace and order.

Security operatives, who blocked anything that could take the shine off the president's visit, moved to the areas while the movement of residents of the areas into Maiduguri town was also made difficult, as they were heavily screened.

Taking a cue from what the people went through during the past visits of Vice-President Namadi Sambo, the Chief of Defence Staff an Inspector-General of Police as where they were turned back from major streets and made to go through untold hardship, the state government declared Friday work-free.

The people of the town went a step ahead of the state government and had started vacating the major streets since Thursday morning.

Though the movement of the president during the visit was restricted to two places – the Shehu of Borno’s palace and Government House – the only notable people on the streets were stern-looking military and security men who were quick to turn back anyone who had the audacity to turn up on the streets.

A resident of the town, who was approached to comment on why there was calm in the town throughout the president’s visit only for hostilities to return a few hours after Jonathan left, said such was to be expected since all security services and men were at alert.

A military source, who did not want his name mentioned, said: "Things like this should be expected when you have all the service chiefs in a state accompanying the Chief Security Officer and Commander in Chief of a country. Every security apparatus have to be drafted to prevent a breach of security and every officer is on his toes."

This was attested to by Lt. Col. Sagir Musa who said there had been continuous attack on Boko Haram insurgents in the last ten days and that the major incident hours after the president's visit was a result of confrontation between JTF and the militants.