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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Troops kill Boko Haram's deputy leader, 17 others |
| 2013-08-15 |
| [Guardian Ng] AMID shock over the recent massacre in Borno State, the Defence Headquarters Wednesday disclosed the killing of 18 terrorists, including Momodu Bama. Bama was the second-in-command to the leader of Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , Abubakar Shekau. The Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said in Abuja that Bama and the other 17 Boko Haram bully boyz died during encounters with special forces of the military and security services in Bama, a border community area. Olukolade also said that Bama's father, Alhaji Abatcha Flatari, "who is also one of the spiritual guiding lights of the outlawed gunnies group" died in the attack. He said that 24 bully boyz were tossed in the slammer Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! The Defence front man added: "Momodu Bama has been personally leading the attacks against troops and innocent citizens in the communities of Yobe and Adamawa. A specialist in manning the anti-aircraft guns of the group, he is known to be vicious and heartless with a penchant for personally slaughtering and executing his victims. Momodu Bama has been a most wanted terrorist with a N25 million bounty already placed on his head." According to Olukolade, "as troops intensify pursuit of gunnies who have been unleashing mayhem in Borno and Yobe communities, the death of Momodu Bama, said to be the Second-in-Command to the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has been confirmed by other arrested terrorists. This followed encounters with the gunnies around the Bama corridor. The troops are continuing the pursuit of the gunnies while intensifying aggressive aerial and land patrols to ensure better security cover for the communities, especially in the two states." And worried by the killings in Borno State, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Sa'ad III and other Islamic leaders of the Jama'atu Nasir Islam (JNI) have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the emergency rule imposed by the Federal Government on three northern states to curb insurgency. The Sultan who is the President-General of JNI, in a statement issued in Kaduna Wednesday, said that his group, the apex Islamic body in the North, " received with consternation ... the senseless killings that occurred at police and military formations in Bama, Malam Fatori, Borno State, which was climaxed with senseless killings of innocent worshippers during early dawn prayers at a mosque in Konduga village, some kilometres away from Maiduguri, Borno State." Wednesday too, Spain and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) condemned the killings in Borno State while the United States (U.S.) pledged assistance to curb insurgency. The Sultan, who expressed dismay at the inability of the emergency rule to address the increasing attacks by Boko Haram, remarked: "We are indeed perplexed that with the state of emergency currently in place in Borno State and with the visible security checkpoints at every nook and cranny of the state, it is hardly believable that such dastardly acts could still occur unabated," he said. He added that "the JNI is seriously perturbed by it and calls for curtailing the proliferation of small arms." According to the statement by the Secretary-General of JNI, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, the Sultan said: "In as much as there is the need for restraint and caution on the part of the coppers, in the affected areas, we are interested to know how the perpetrators gained access to the cordoned areas with such explosives and guns. "Who were they? Why were they not prevented or arrested? What were the motives behind such repeated orchestrated heinous acts? Indeed there is much more than meets the eyes. "In the light of the above, we call on government at all levels to do everything possible as a matter of urgency to stop these evil acts of unleashing terror on innocent and peace-loving souls, by restoring law and order. "Above all, the restoration of use of GSM in Borno State should be a topmost priority to those that matter. This is to facilitate security alert in a situation where insecurity has wreaked unprecedented havoc on innocent citizens. Even if it is to be restored, it must be to some selected/strategic government officials within the state. "In the meantime, as we commiserate with the families of the victims of those evil acts of terror and condole with the parents and guardians who lost their wards in the debacle, we call on all and sundry to continue praying for peace, progress and development of the nation." While expressing condolences to the families of the affected victims and government of Borno, the Sultan stressed: "The barbaric, callous, obscure and incomprehensible attack is utterly condemnable in its entirety, especially that over 50 persons were lost and the sacred month of Ramadan had just ended." |
| Posted by:Fred |