Members of the National Assembly yesterday resolved to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan over the escalation of Boko Haram attacks in Bama, Borno State and Bara in Yobe State.
They took the decision after over five-hour meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Air Marshal Alex Badeh in Abuja. The NASS delegation to the President will be led by members of Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Defence.
The lawmakers and Badeh reviewed the state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
After the parley, Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Senator George Sekibo, told journalists that the proposed meeting with President Jonathan was aimed at finding immediate and workable solutions to the crisis in the region.
Senator Sekibo said that based on what Badeh told them, the military was in control of the security situation in the three states.
Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Hon Bashir Adamu, said that only N300billion and not N1trillion was budgeted for the military in 2014, adding that 75percent was for recurrent expenditure.
Residents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, yesterday trooped to the streets to protest against Boko Haram terrorists over their renewed attacks in some towns and villages in the state.
The residents, who were led by youths, said the time had come for them to register their anger against the killings and destruction of property of the peace-loving people of the state by the insurgents.
According to the youths, since the insurgents had made life unbearable for them, they were prepared to risk their lives, including going to the dreaded Sambisa Forest and other hideouts of the terrorists to confront them.
Some of the youths told journalists that the mass street protests in Maiduguri, were path of the first phase of the series of actions they had planned to let the insurgents know that they would not keep quiet any longer.
The angry youths first gathered at the popular Ramat Square before they moved to the streets of Maiduguri, which has been under Boko Haram threat since 2009.
At the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Ibn-Garbai El-Kanemi, the protesting youths, who had in their fold members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, JTF, sought the monarch’s blessings for their planned confrontation with the terrorists.
Alhaji El-Kanemi however advised the youths to abide by the law in the course of discharging their civic responsibilities.
It was learnt that as the protests were on, troops had advanced towards Bama to reclaim it from the insurgents. The troops were said to have gained entry into the town yesterday to push out the terrorists.
Nigerian Pilot gathered that more fighter jets and military ware were deployed in Bama, which 67 kilometres from Maiduguri.
It was learnt that the Brigade Commander of Mohammed Kur Barracks, the Police Area Commander, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO and Commandant of MOPOL 53 in Bama were in Maiduguri to map out fresh strategies against the advancing insurgents.
Residents of Bama claimed that telephone services had gone dead and its environs following the massive destruction of GSM masts by the sect members.
Insurgents will soon fall in Bama – Military
A military source said that the authorities would only speak on the attacks when reasonable success had been made:
“From the reports available to us, the troops have recorded what strategically we call a ‘push in’ to reclaim the town. This means that the military has gained access on land and confronting the insurgents. Very soon, the game will change. The priority now is to regain control of the army formation in Bama because these insurgents invaded the barracks and targeted the armoury. They also attacked the police units and sacked these places, leaving officers and men to beat a ‘tactical retreat’ to regroup for counterattacks.
“We have been engaging the insurgents in air and land encounters since Tuesday. The troops have succeeded in killing many insurgents who are still resilient but they will soon fall. The Brigade Commander, Police Area Commander, DPO and Commandant of MOPOL 53 in Bama have moved to Maiduguri to coordinate the counterattacks, which are yielding results. Until we have fully regained Bama, the military has decided not to talk. We want to present all evidence of the heroic feats of the troops to Nigerians.
“The aerial bombardments have been intense in the last few days with more fighter jets. Troops have got new and sophisticated weapons for the battle. They only need commitment to use the weapons appropriately,” the top security chief said.
Another source added: “The whole situation in Bama is confusing because there is no more telephone service. The insurgents destroyed all GSM masts as part of the ongoing blockade of the area.
“Those in Maiduguri were able to communicate with a few military officers, troops and security agents at the battle front through the Cameroun. So, we have to divert our call through Cameroun through a special link. So, you can imagine the terrible condition the people and residents of Bama are facing,” he said.
US to assist Nigeria, Cameroun, others on border security
Nigeria and her neighbouring countries would soon receive assistance from the United States on border security.
The US, which plans to launch the border security programme under its Global Security Contingency Fund, said Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad and Niger Republic would benefit from it.
US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated this yesterday in Abuja at the opening session of US-Nigeria, Bi-National Commission Regional Security Working Group meeting.
Thomas-Greenfield pledged that the American government would continue to provide technical training to soldiers and policemen engaged in the fight against Boko Haram.
“As an important part of this training, we are pleased to provide advanced training to the Nigerian infantry battalion,” she said, but remarked that Nigerians should realise that no conversation on security could be complete without addressing issues of accountability.
“Whether we are talking about election security or counter-insurgency, the United States would continue to support Nigeria and its security services as long as they fulfill their responsibilities with restraint and impartiality,” she said.
Thomas-Greenfield also decried plans by the Boko Haram to launch attacks on Maiduguri following the fall of Bama to them.
“We are very troubled by the apparent capture of Bama and the prospects for an attack on and in Maiduguri, which would impose a tremendous toll on the civilian population,” she said.
