Nigerian Troops Recapture Chibok, Several Killed in Bauchi Bombing

Nigerian soldiers

•   10 soldiers killed in Adamawa 
• Abati: Reports on fleeing soldiers are exaggerated

Jaiyeola Andrews, Senator Iroegbu in Abuja, Daji Sani in Yola and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi    


The Nigerian military has recaptured the symbolic Chibok town in Borno State after it was briefly overrun by Boko Haram terrorists on Friday.

Chibok gained global prominence in April this year when 279 female students were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists from a secondary school in the town. Since their abduction, 219 have remained in captivity.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig-Gen. Olajide Laleye confirmed the recapture of the town through a brief text message on Sunday.

Laleye said the military took back the town on Saturday night after a combined aerial and ground assault against members of the sect.

Even though he did not give much details, the army spokesman said the town is secured and the troops were conducting mop up operations.

“Troops recaptured Chibok at 1830 hours last night (Saturday) and mop up operations are ongoing. The town is now secured,” he said.

He said further details will be provided later.

Also, the Defence Headquarters, in a twitter post, said the “terrorists who attacked Chibok town early yesterday have been effectively flushed out. Subsequent mop up is still ongoing.

“Troops continue in pursuit of fleeing terrorists and arrest of the wounded. Normalcy is restored. Chibok is secured. Further updates later.”

Several Killed in Azare

However, as the military basked in their latest victory over the sect, at least 12 persons were feared dead and 56 others injured when a female suicide bomber detonated a bomb at an ICT market in Azare, Bauchi State, on Sunday.

Confirming the incident, the Bauchi Police Public Relations Officer, however, said he was yet to ascertain the number of casualties, but those who were injured had been rushed to hospitals.

Also an eyewitness told AFP: “A suicide bomber came into the market as it was closing and blew herself up in the middle of all the merchants and their customers.”

“I saw at least eight dead and lots of others wounded,” another witness, Aliyu Habib, told AFP.

The blast, THISDAY checks revealed, occurred at 5.30 pm at the market in the town, known as Kasuwan Jagol, where people, particularly young men, sell and repair handsets and other IT accessories. The market is attached to the stadium at Unguwan Gabas.

A resident Babale Musa, who spoke with THISDAY on the phone, said the explosion was devastating as Sunday is market day in Azare, which is the commercial nerve centre of the northern part of Bauchi State.

According to him, many people were injured in the incident, adding that the injured were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in the town.

“It is unfortunate, this is the third time a bomb has been detonated in Azare in one month. Just penultimate Friday, there was an explosion at the ATM in First Bank of Nigeria Plc premises. Today again we experienced another one,” Musa told THISDAY.

Also speaking, the lawmaker representing Azare/Madagali in the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Baba Abubakar Suleiman, stated that though he was out of town, hospital sources informed him that 12 people died in the incident, while 46 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

Suleiman, while lamenting that the explosion was the third to occur in the town in a month, expressed surprised that this was happening to Azare now, saying that despite the various check points leading into the town, bombers still found their way into the town to carry out their attacks.

He called on the federal government to intervene and end the insurgency in the North-east.

Efforts to get the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State Command, proved abortive at the time of filing this report.

10 Soldiers Killed in Adamawa

In another incident, no less than ten soldiers were reportedly killed in clashes with Boko Haram insurgents in Gombi and Hong Local Government Areas of Adamawa State on Sunday night.

A security source revealed that the Nigerian troops had been battling hard to flush out the insurgents from the two areas and to stop them from heading to the state capital, Yola.

He said that the insurgents had resolved to capture Yola, which is about 90 km from Gombi.

According to him, the insurgents had met strong resistance from the Nigeria troops, who had been deployed to stop them from extending their captured territories.

A fleeing resident of Gombi, who spoke to reporters yesterday in Yola said that the insurgents had taken over the entire Gombi town.

According to him, about ten soldiers lost their lives in the fight against the insurgents, adding that the insurgents went from house to house in Gombi slaughtering residents who were trapped in the town.

He said insurgents were merciless and went about killing anybody they come across.

However, the Adamawa State Governor, Bala James Ngilari refuted reports that the insurgents had seized the two councils.

Ngilari, who spoke through his Director of Press and Publicity, Mr. P.P Elisha, said the insurgents tried to force their way into the local government council but met stiff resistance from the Nigerian troops.

Elisha, however, said the state government had restricted the movement of people in the two local government areas because of the battle going on between the Nigeria troops and the insurgents.

He said that the decision was taken after Ngilari held a meeting with the military authorities in Yola.

Abati on Fleeing Soldiers

Meanwhile, as the battle against the Boko Haram insurgency rages, the presidency has acknowledged that it is dealing with an unusual situation, adding, however, that it was doing everything to win the war.

Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, in an interview on Channels Television said Nigerian soldiers would have been fighting a well-defined enemy, with a well-defined identity and wearing a definite uniform in a chosen battlefield if it was a conventional war.

“But what Nigerians must realise is that we are dealing with an unusual situation. This is not a conventional war; this is not a conventional situation whereby you are dealing with an enemy with a clearly defined identity, wearing a definite uniform and the battlefield is chosen. We are dealing with an enemy that is almost anonymous, who can strike anywhere and an enemy who is prepared to die.

“Dealing with this situation has been very challenging, but what is very clear is that the government of Nigeria will not give up. The government of Nigeria is not going to abandon this commitment. We will continue to ensure the security of lives and property,” Abati said.

While faulting those accusing Jonathan of inaction, Abati said: “See, the president is the man in the kitchen; he feels the heat, and he is not running away from the heat. And he is saying, ‘Look, we are dealing with the situation and we will continue to deal with it’.

“However, we need your cooperation; security is a challenge. It would have been a different thing if he had come to Nigerians and he had painted a picture of Nirvana that the people are looking up to.”

On the opposition’s scathing criticism of Jonathan for declaring his re-election bid in the wake of students’ killing in Yobe by the sect, the president’s spokesman said: “In that declaration speech, he confronted the issues and having confronted the major issues that Nigerians have to deal with, he then moved on to say, ‘Look, in spite of these security challenges we cannot afford to despair, we cannot give up. You gave me this mandate in 2011; that means that you have given me the responsibility, and this is what this administration has been able to do,’ and he gave his scorecard.

"So the conversation is not about his personal ambition. It is about the Nigerian project, which is one of the phrases he used in that speech. The conversation is about the future of Nigeria; the conversation is about collective action, and many of the more brilliant commentators of that speech were immediately able to spot what the president was saying.
“After giving that scorecard, he recommitted himself to the service of the people, in the interest of Nigerians, to put Nigerians first all the time and I think that his honesty, his forthrightness is something that Nigerians appreciate.

“And that was why by the time he got to the point where he was offering himself for service again, the response within the arena was enthusiastic, was one of appreciation and these were ordinary Nigerians, even people in their homes who listened to him could feel the sincerity, they could touch it.”

He added that, “there was a resolve that in dealing with the challenge of terrorism, people should be bipartisan.

"In other words, people should suspend political differences and work together to solve the problem. This was the whole point about the various initiatives put on the table and effectuated by President Jonathan”.

Also speaking on Arise Television, a THISDAY sister company, Abati, while confirming the recapture of Chibok by Nigerian troops, however, said he had no information on if Nigerian troops initially fled during their confrontation with Boko Haram before regrouping to recapture the town, maintaining that such reports are exaggerated.

“I think oftentimes this point about soldiers fleeing is exaggerated. I think Nigerian troops deserve commendation. They have shown great courage, a lot of commitment in fighting in the face of a war that is unconventional, in the face of a war that is asymmetrical, in the face of a war that is an assault on everything noble that all human beings stand for.

“But of course in any war at all, you are likely to have courageous persons and you are likely to have cowards. So even though there has been demonstration of cowardice, the military authorities have also shown great resolve by insisting on discipline and such soldiers have been court martialled. But I think the troops deserve commendation,” he said.

When asked where the abducted Chibok girls are, Abati said the operations to rescue them have continued and the federal government would not rest until they are rescued and the war ended.

“You know that this has been one of the challenges since April, which is to ensure that those girls are rescued. That operation is continuing and we remain optimistic that the security forces will succeed in rescuing them. That is our hope, that is our prayer.

“But of course, everyone is concerned because we are dealing with human lives here; we are dealing with the assault on those girls’ rights to an education. So that objective remains undiminished to rescue the girls.”

Abati added that the government had not ruled out the possibility of other parties intervening and assisting to ensure that the objectives of winning the war and rescuing the Chibok girls are achieved.

Source: Thisdaylive