Boko Haram: What Is Really Going On In The Northeast?

Over the weekend, the centre refused to hold in the northeast, as the people were continually plagued by guffaw and blasts of bombs which led to the death of scores and the injury of many.

How the carnage began

The Boko Haram sect struck in two major towns within Borno and Adamawa state.
Reports from the Borno state capital had it that there was an ongoing battle between the insurgents and the military.
According to Daily Post, the showdown on Sunday, December 27, was a tussle over who will take possession of the capital city.
Sources said the military made efforts to stop the insurgents who had mobilized themselves in buses from penetrating the city of Maiduguri.
It was gathered that the terrorists, who were trying to make an inroad through Ajidalari, along the suburb of Jiddari Polo, were intercepted by troops and members of the vigilante group popularly called civilian JTF, this resulted into heavy exchange of gunfire.
A series of suicide attacks followed just after the encounter in Maiduguri, and that was the beginning of the carnage.

Initial Denial

The Nigerian Military initially refuted reports that the jihadists attacked outskirts of Maiduguri.
In a statement issued by the media coordinator of operation lafiya dole, Colonel Mustapha Anka, the army stated that it intercepted and destroyed 10 suspected Boko Haram terrorists suicide bombers at the outskirts of the town.
According to the Vanguard, the army noted that contrary to earlier media reports and rumours flying around, two Boko Haram terrorists suspected suicide bombers were earlier intercepted by vigilant troops and they disclosed that their colleagues had intentions to enter the city with the aim of detonating bombs in selected public places.

The suicide attacks

It turned out that the rumours were founded, and rather than being just an intention to detonate bombs, the terrorists carried out a chain of suicide attacks in Adamawa and Borno states.
The Nigeria military confirmed that two female suicide bombers denoted improvised explosives devices  in Madagali village in Adamawa.

A Boko Haram blast scene (File Photo)

Babakura Kolo, a civilian vigilante assisting the military in fighting Boko Haram, said there had been more than a dozen suicide blasts in Maiduguri between the night and morning.
According to Kolo, the suicide attacks were carried out by young suicide bombers who managed to make their way into the city during the gun battle between soldiers and Boko Haram gunmen.
At first, the authorities were uncertain as to the number of casualties recorded. However, the head of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the region, Mohammed Kanar, told AFP that in Maiduguri, at least 30 were killed and more than 90 wounded in the overnight blasts and shootouts.
Kanar further reported that another 20 died in a bombing outside a mosque at dawn of Monday, December 28.
Witnesses said a twin suicide bombing also killed at least 30 people in Madagali, a town which is about 150 kilometers southeast of Maiduguri.

Danladi Buba said two women blew themselves up at a market near a busy bus station at about 9am.
Brig Gen Victor Ezugwu, the officer commanding in northeast Adamawa state, confirmed the attack but said casualties were yet to be established.
According to civil servant, Yunusa Abdullahi, two girls blew themselves up in the Buraburin neighborhood, killing several people.

The Associated Press reports that just outside Maiduguri, militants firing indiscriminately from the back of three trucks attacked the outlying village of Dawari.

According to village head Bulama Isa soldiers engaged them, and as people were fleeing, a woman ran into the area yelling “Boko Haram, Boko Haram”. When people gathered, she detonated herself.

Isa further disclosed that a rocket-propelled grenade exploded just then, setting grass-thatched huts on fire, and a second woman blew herself up.

Among those killed was the village chief and 10 of his children, according to residents Ahmed Bala and Umar Ibrahim.

A soldier told newsmen that three suicide bombers blew themselves up at a home near Bakassi Estate, killing 18 people Sunday evening.

Following the various attacks, some residents began to flee from the unsafe Polo area, while some other residents were reportedly waiting in turn to identify dead bodies at the mortuary.

Residents waiting to identify their dead loved ones at a mortuary.

Residents fleeing Polo area.

Intercept and destroy

Maj Gen Lamidi Adeosun, the commander prosecuting Nigeria’s war against Boko Haram, told reporters that acting on information provided by a captured insurgent, Nigerian troops “intercepted and destroyed” 13 suicide bombers and arrested one female suicide bomber in repelling the attackers.

The way forward

The last suicide attack, came just less than 24-hours after the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammaed had told reporters how to handle the reportage of news and information when Nigeria is at war, stating that Nigerian army had met the deadline on flushing Boko Haram.

In the light of the seeming contrast between the minister’s statements and the reality of attacks on ground, many Nigerians do not know what to believe. Some have even blamed the recent spate of attacks on the comments made by the information minister.

However, many other Nigerians are still longing to know what the real way forward is, beyond the media claims of Boko Haram being defeated, and the set deadline already beaten by the army.