What a shame! Over 2,000 Nigerians living in border villages in
Borno State have reportedly fled as a result of the ongoing military operations
targeted at routing insurgents from the area under the emergency rule. The
fleeing villagers were said to have headed to the neighbouring Niger Republic.
According to punch “Most of the residents of border villages of
Borno have fled to Niger. About 2,000 people from Abadan, Malam Fatori and
other villages are now refugees in Difa, Niger Republic,” a top security officer
told one of our correspondents on Sunday. The source said that the Joint
Military Task Force was on the trail of members of the Boko Haram sect, who
were dislodged from the Sambisa Game Reserve and other camps on Thursday in
Borno State.
It was learnt that residents of Maiduguri and other communities
far from the border, who did not want to be caught in the cross-fire had also
fled to some neighbouring states, including Kano and Bauchi. The Director of
Defence Information, Defence Headquarters, Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, could
not confirm whether the Nigerian villagers had fled to Niger Republic. “I will
have to find out,” he said.
Also, Nigerian Immigration Public Relations Officer, Ekpedeme
King, promised to find out if any Nigerian villagers fled to Niger Republic.
However, he did not respond to subsequent calls and a text message sent to his
phone. Olukolade, in a statement on Sunday, said, “A total of 20 terrorists
were apprehended as they fled. Altogether, three soldiers died, while seven are
wounded and are being treated in military medical facility, one soldier is
missing.”
On Sunday, Olukolade said, “The required reinforcement and
logistics have been delivered to forces in fronts where they have been engaging
a large number of heavily armed terrorists since yesterday. “Defence
Headquarters is quite satisfied with the high standard of compliance with
operational order and strict observance of the rules of engagement so far. “The
forces have been directed to maintain the robustness of the patrols and
enforcement of curfews where emplaced and ensure that civilians are kept out of
harms as much as possible.”
A 24-hour curfew had on Saturday been imposed in parts of the city
of Maiduguri. In Adamawa State, the curfew imposed in parts of the state has
been biting harder on residents, especially those living in the capital city,
Yola, and the border towns of Mubi and Maiha.
A resident of Jimeta-Yola, Ms. Rifkatu Iliya, who spoke to one of
our correspondents on the telephone, said, “The curfew is still on and we are
learning to live with it, those of us who go to work leave earlier than usual
so that we are not caught up. “For those who are trading, it is more difficult
because their trading hours have been reduced to between three to five hours a
day. “I will be lying if I say we are not living in fear, we have heard of the
atrocities of Boko Haram in some parts of the state and we have seen an
increase in the number of security forces.”
But a security source in Yola, who asked not to be named because
she was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue, said the military
crackdown, had been concentrated in Borno. The source said, “The military
operations are targeted largely at terrorist training camps and strongholds in
Borno. “However, we in Adamawa are also on the alert because we are aware that
the insurgents who are under intense pressure in Borno may want to seek a safe
haven here. “We are under instructions not to allow this to happen. “The pains
of the checkpoints and the curfew are temporary; residents will have to bear
with us.”
Credit: Punch
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