The Boko Haram insurgents have killed over 100 people in Adamawa, according to a local vigilante group.
Our correspondent gathered that mountain settlers in Hildi, Backky Dutse in Hong local government areas of Adamawa State have come under severe attacks by the insurgents who have murdered over 100 villagers.
Reports coming in from Michika, Madagali and Hong indicated that the sect is gaining more footholds in the state. Our correspondent learnt the sect has hoisted its flag at the palace of the district head of Michika Kurpo Mand.
Soldiers also yesterday retreated from the zone, a development which has triggered mass exodus experienced in northern zone comprising of Michika, Madagali, Mubi and Hong. The army, which drove in a convoy of 17 buses pulled out of the zone.
But as the security situation in the state degenerated, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday announced after an expanded security meeting involving stakeholders of political parties that it would not hold elections in Madagali the home town of the acting governor and Michika during the October governorship byeelection.
Yola, the state capital has been experience massive influx of people fleeing the Boko Haram onslaught.
The precarious security situation in Michika, Madagali and Mubi areas of the state formed the focus of discussions by the stakeholders yesterday in Yola at a meeting convened by the INEC. This is just as unconfirmed reports said that the insurgents attacked a platoon led by the son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday.
An online medium said that Adeboye Obasanjo, a Lieutenant Colonel at the 3rd Division in Jos, Plateau State, who is also an army engineer, was shot during the attack He was alleged to have sustained serious injuries to his legs and was rushed to the hospital.
He and his platoon were reported to have engaged the Boko Haram militants at Baza, the village of the General Officer Commanding, GOC, of the 3rd Division when the attack occurred.
One Lieutenant Agwu of the 234 battalion, the GOC of the 3rd Division, Maj. Gen. J.S Zaruwa and Colonel Victor Ebhaleme who serves as the Brigade Commander of the 23rd Army Brigade in Yola were all said to be advancing towards Michika when the Boko Haram fighters unleashed the deadly attack on them. Twenty four soldiers in the platoon were reportedly killed by the militants.
“Apart from the dead soldiers, the army also lost an armored tank to the militants. As a result of the attack, the army has moved sensitive weapons from Mubi to the Brigade headquarters in Yola leaving Mubi vulnerable to attack.
“The town of Mubi has practically been deserted following the closure of schools and massive retreat of soldiers from the city,” the report said.
Confirming the attack to our correspondent in Abuja, the Director of Army Public Relations, DAPR, Brig-Gen Olajide Laleye, said there was a fierce battle between troops and insurgents in Mubi, leading to casualty on both sides.
He however said that he could not confirm that the former President’s son was affected.
“There was a fierce battle in Mubi this night. Some soldiers and officers were injured but I cannot say if the former President’s son was affected,” Laleye stated.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday called on the Federal Government to urgently fund the Armed Forces to address insurgency in the country. The appeal is contained in a statement signed by the NLC President, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar in Abuja.
The statement said that NLC was worried about the recent incursion into some towns and villages, especially in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe in the North East region of the country, by insurgents. It said that the violent attacks, reported seizures of and declaration of an Islamic republic remains unacceptable and must never be allowed.
The congress also expressed concern at the speed with which the insurgents were over running communities even in areas reported to have heavy security presence.
The statement, however, called for an urgent intervention in the funding and provision of appropriate equipment to the armed forces and proper policing of communities across the country.
It said failure to ensure adequate funding of security agencies would be a monumental discredit to government under whose direction and authority the overall safety of all citizens was constitutionally placed.
It warned that the consequence of allowing any part of the country to be forcefully seized by any group would be overwhelmingly harmful to the collective unity and socio economic advancement of the country.
“It is time the armed forces prove their preparedness to protect and defend the Nigerian people and their territories by using all within their armoury to protect our territorial integrity.
“We believe government can do more in ensuring the troops are well kitted with modern weapons and all that is required to fight contemporary wars as the situation has obviously moved beyond mere insurgency,” the statement said. It said that the credibility and professional image of the armed forces was also at stake at the global rating.
The statement noted that the country’s forces have been widely acclaimed to have performed well during peace keeping operations in different parts of the world to be overrun by insurgents back home.
“We believe the government can do more in ensuring the troops are well kitted with modern weapons and all that is required to fight contemporary wars as the situation has obviously moved beyond mere insurgency.
“We must never allow any part of Nigeria to be subjected to perpetual fear and nightmares, which the entire north east seem to have been boxed into,” the statement added.
However, the statement commended the commitment of the security agencies to combat insurgency in the country. Besides, the congress said that every part of the country was as important as other parts.
