THE Joint Military Task
Force (JTF) and dreaded
Islamic sect, Boko Haram,
engaged in a gun duel,
yesterday in Maiduguri,
Borno State, leaving 30
people dead.
Although the spokesman
for JTF, Lieutenant
Colonel Hassan
Mohammed, claimed that
only eight Boko Haram
members were killed in
the latest attack, a nurse
at the University of
Maiduguri Teaching
Hospital said she saw
more than 20 bodies.Security sources claimed
that the gunmen stormed
the fish section of Baga
market and sprayed
stallholders and vendors
with bullets.
It was learnt that women
and children were among
the dead in the shootout,
but the JTF spokesman
dismissed that civilians
died in the latest attack,
saying they were only
wounded.
‘The civilians wounded
have been taken to
hospital where they are
receiving treatment while
the market has been
cordoned off, Mohammed
said, adding that troops
had deactivated three
improvised explosive
devices.
‘At about 1:30 p.m. at
Baga market of Maiduguri
metropolis, some gunmen
suspected to be members
of Boko Haram attacked
and shot civilians at the
market,’ he said.
The JTF spokesman
added that the task force
‘immediately came to the
rescue and safely
detonated three bombs
planted by members of
the sect, shot and killed
eight members of the
sect.’
A trader, who survived
the attack, also said no
fewer than 30 people
must have been killed.
He said that the gunmen
set off eight home-made
bombs inside the market,
destroying stalls.
‘The gunmen just opened
fire killing people. I saw
three military vans piled
with bodies leaving the
market. There were
several explosions after
the shooting,’ he said.
He said that the Boko
Haram stormed the
market because of their
suspicion that the market
people betrayed their
members to the
taskforce.
‘One gunman shouted
angrily that traders had
teamed up with soldiers
to help arrest our
members.
We have, henceforth,
waged war against you,’
the gunman was believed
to have declared before
he started spraying
bullets on both vendors
and customers.
The entire market was,
however, deserted after
the attack.
Only last week, traders
overpowered a gunman
suspected to be a Boko
Haram member and
handed him over to the
military.
Maiduguri has seen some
of the worst violence
blamed on the extremist
sect, which has operated
mainly in the Muslim-
dominated north.
The insurgency blamed
on Boko Haram has killed
more than 200 people
already this year,
including at least 185 in
coordinated gun and
bomb attacks in Kano on
January 20, its deadliest
strike ever.
Force (JTF) and dreaded
Islamic sect, Boko Haram,
engaged in a gun duel,
yesterday in Maiduguri,
Borno State, leaving 30
people dead.
Although the spokesman
for JTF, Lieutenant
Colonel Hassan
Mohammed, claimed that
only eight Boko Haram
members were killed in
the latest attack, a nurse
at the University of
Maiduguri Teaching
Hospital said she saw
more than 20 bodies.Security sources claimed
that the gunmen stormed
the fish section of Baga
market and sprayed
stallholders and vendors
with bullets.
It was learnt that women
and children were among
the dead in the shootout,
but the JTF spokesman
dismissed that civilians
died in the latest attack,
saying they were only
wounded.
‘The civilians wounded
have been taken to
hospital where they are
receiving treatment while
the market has been
cordoned off, Mohammed
said, adding that troops
had deactivated three
improvised explosive
devices.
‘At about 1:30 p.m. at
Baga market of Maiduguri
metropolis, some gunmen
suspected to be members
of Boko Haram attacked
and shot civilians at the
market,’ he said.
The JTF spokesman
added that the task force
‘immediately came to the
rescue and safely
detonated three bombs
planted by members of
the sect, shot and killed
eight members of the
sect.’
A trader, who survived
the attack, also said no
fewer than 30 people
must have been killed.
He said that the gunmen
set off eight home-made
bombs inside the market,
destroying stalls.
‘The gunmen just opened
fire killing people. I saw
three military vans piled
with bodies leaving the
market. There were
several explosions after
the shooting,’ he said.
He said that the Boko
Haram stormed the
market because of their
suspicion that the market
people betrayed their
members to the
taskforce.
‘One gunman shouted
angrily that traders had
teamed up with soldiers
to help arrest our
members.
We have, henceforth,
waged war against you,’
the gunman was believed
to have declared before
he started spraying
bullets on both vendors
and customers.
The entire market was,
however, deserted after
the attack.
Only last week, traders
overpowered a gunman
suspected to be a Boko
Haram member and
handed him over to the
military.
Maiduguri has seen some
of the worst violence
blamed on the extremist
sect, which has operated
mainly in the Muslim-
dominated north.
The insurgency blamed
on Boko Haram has killed
more than 200 people
already this year,
including at least 185 in
coordinated gun and
bomb attacks in Kano on
January 20, its deadliest
strike ever.
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