10 die in JTF’s reprisal for officer’s death

A military officer was killed yesterday in an attack on a patrol vehicle in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. Two soldiers, who are also members of the Joint Task Force (JTF), were critically injured in the attack.

The killing of the officer, a lieutenant, by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), angered the task force’s men who shot sporadically, leading to the death of no fewer than 10 people.

The IED was buried on Lagos Street, near the NUJ Press Centre. It went off at about 7.15am as the JTF patrol vehicle was passing by. The lieutenant, sitting in front of the vehicle was killed.

A few minutes later, another bomb went off in a residential apartment facing the spot of the first blast. Military sources said a middle age man who was believed to be coupling the explosive device was the victim. He died.

The JTF spokesman, Lt Col Sagir Musa, in a statement said two soldiers were injured. “It is feared that two soldiers sustained injury,” he claimed.

Soldiers reportedly shot sporadically in the area particularly Gwange Ward adjacent the scene of the blast. Over hundred houses, shopping mall and offices were set ablaze while thousands of residents in the area were displaced. Gwange is believed to be one of the flash points of the Boko Haram activities in the city.

Heavy shootings were heard in the city as most residents remained indoors. Many of the employees of the University of Maiduguri could not access their offices because the Lagos Street was barricaded.

Sources said the soldiers “believed many residents were aiding the activities of the sect.

Deputy Governor Zanna Mustapha inspected the area. He appealed to Boko Haram members to lay down their arms. “If they say they are fighting for the sake of Allah, people are suffering and if they say they are fighting for people, our people are still suffering. Just see what they have put people into now. It is really sad.”

He said government would assess the extent of loss by the people and see how it could be mitigated.

There was heavy security around the construction site of a Chinese firm in the city yesterday following the killing of one of their colleagues and his aide at Gubio, north of Borno state.

Source: The Nation