34 die in Borno market bomb blast
By Sadiq Abubakar, Maiduguri, and Jibrin Baba Ndace, Abuja
After losing no less than five soldiers in last week’s attempt to penetrate Bama local government area of Borno state, soldiers of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army finally recaptured the town in one of the swiftest and fiercest battles ever fought against the Boko Haram insurgents.
The victory led to jubilation inside the Maimalari Barracks, headquarters of the 7th Division.
Blueprint learnt that the operation, which was led by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 7th Division, Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, was a very fast and secretive one in which the officers and men themselves had to toe the line behind the infantry general into Bama without knowing his next move.
They did not meet any serious resistance between Konduga and Bama, which was indicative of the fact that the insurgents had actually retreated and galvanised their arsenals in the town, awaiting the showdown.
A dependable military source told our correspondent in Maiduguri after their return from Bama around 12.17 p.m. yesterday that it was not easy braving it without casualties.
According to the source, the boldness of the GOC, coupled with the new equipment in which tanks walked over hundreds of mines around the town, produced the hard-earned victory.
He said: “My brother, we are happy that our commander-in-chief has been able to upgrade us and, as we speak, we have the right equipment to end the war in the next one week.
“The GOC is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that we meet the deadline for elections to the best of his human possibilities.
“The General did not even utilise our crack boys in Konduga. He just took his team from our supply of new boys here and drove straight into Bama, leaving the Konduga guys to rest and continue watching his back till he took over Bama, chased the bad people out and removed their flags, installed our authority with our men and returned to base to the jubilation of the soldiers yesterday.”
The source added that the GOC was enraged by the alleged nonchalance of his brigade commander in the area, one Colonel Israel, who was supposed to have waited for additional support from Maiduguri but did not do so, an action that led to their failure at Kauri last week.
Our correspondent gathered that the colonel had ventured into the territory with some of his officers and men but was unsuccessful as they met with fire from Boko Haram fighters who had dug and mined trenches that slowed down the movement of the soldiers and caused them the loss of a T72 tank which was rammed into by three suicide bombers, killing the occupants.
A senior army officer in the Division who does not want his name in print said: “This latest feat is attributed to a response by Abuja in ensuring that the right kind of equipment to fight modern insurgency was given to the soldiers, which is why there has been no burial since the advent of the infantry GOC.
“This is the final step in the move aimed at linking up with foreign soldiers who have been restricted more to guard duties at the international borders to ensure that the insurgents do not cross controlled territories into their respective countries involved in the collaboration.
“While the Niger soldiers are moving to Damasak, the capital of Mobbar local government area of Borno, the Chadians, led by a brigadier-general, met with Nigerian soldiers in an undisclosed location yesterday.”
Blueprint reports that with the recapture of Bama, hope has risen for more secure elections in Biu, Kwaya Kusar, Bayo, Shani, Hawul, Chibok, Jere, Maiduguri and some parts of Konduga local government area of Borno state.
Residents said the battle left many houses and shops, as well as offices of both the local and the state governments, either destroyed or burnt, while dozens of people were killed by stray bullets during the exchange of fire between the soldiers and the insurgents.
Some said children and housewives, including the aged, were hit by bullets and could not be rushed to the hospital in the town due to the situation on ground and consequently lost so much blood.
A Civilian JTF source said over 100 houses and offices were destroyed, while over 50 shops were vandalised or burnt.
Also, many vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles were destroyed, while over 30 residents and 70 insurgents were killed in the course of recapturing the town.
In a related development, the Maiduguri metropolis was again thrown into another pandemonium, yesterday when another heavy bomb blast at the famous Monday Market killed at least 34 people and wounded over 42 others.
An eye witness who is a commercial driver that parked few meters away from the spot of the blast, one Malam Usman Abbas, told our correspondent that he was in his Volkswagen Golf dropping three passengers he picked from Gomari when the blast shook the place.
Abass said: “I was terribly scared and could not even move an inch from my car, shivering for some minutes before I was able to gather some momentum to even start my car and drive away.
“When I took the other way out of the scene I saw soldiers and Civilian JTF rushing to the scene while people were running up and down, confused and terrified. Some were pushing others, and some falling down, as nobody knew what would happen next.”
A Civilian JTF source said what he saw seemed to be one of the deadliest attacks by any suicide bomber as the bomb blast killed so many people.
“We have so far been able to carry about 30 corpses to the hospital and over 30 seriously injured people apart from those that ran away from the scene wounded and went to hospital on their own.
“We are yet to ascertain whether it was a female or male suicide bomber as everybody is now busy.”
At about 5.30 p.m. when our correspondent visited the area, the security situation was bad. People were seen running and some were trying to stop vehicles and tricycles. Everywhere was in a state of confusion.
Soldiers were seen chasing people away from the market, beating passersby and motorists as Red Cross and Civilian JTF vehicles were moved up and down conveying corpses and the wounded victims to the hospital.
Also yesterday, insurgents who were fleeing the onslaught of the troops met their waterloo in their attempt to enter Gombi town, the headquarters of Gombi local government area of Adamawa state.
A statement issued yesterday by the Acting Director Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, said troops engaged the fleeing insurgents, killing many of them and recovering deadly weapons.
Usman said: “The terrorists were engaged by troops of 23 Brigade, Nigerian Army, in a gun battle that led to killing of quite a number of them, destruction and recovery of vehicles, motorcycles, various calibre of weapons and ammunition.
“These include four Hilux vehicles, three anti-aircraft guns and one .50-inch Browning machine gun.
“Others include 5,000 rounds of 12.7 milimetre ammunition, two boxes of .50-inch ammunitions, 1,000 rounds of light machine gun ammunitions and one Rocket Propelled Grenade 7 tube, as well as one general purpose machine gun.”
The spokesman disclosed that a soldier was wounded in the encounter and he was responding to treatment.
“Troops are mopping up the area to prevent further incursions by the terrorists,” he said.