There was confusion on Tuesday on whether
or not the outlawed Boko Haram sect had overrun Bama, a town 70
kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
But what was clear to our correspondents as of press time on Tuesday was that the casualty figure had risen from 59 to 180.
The
militants had launched an attack on Bama on Monday but were initially
repelled. They however came back in greater numbers overnight, the
security sources and witnesses said.
The sources said there were heavy casualties on both sides. One said at least 5,000 people fled the town.
Reuters
quoted a soldier involved in the Bama battle as having said that
several of his colleagues were killed close to the Bama armoury in a
bungled strike by a fighter jet targeting the insurgents.
He
said the troops called in air reinforcements as they took on the
insurgents but by the time a fighter jet arrived, they had mostly lost
the battle in the area .
“The jet
then bombed the area but accidentally killed everyone there, both
Nigerian troops and insurgents,” it quoted the soldier as saying.
“The situation is bad. We lost so many of our men,” he said.
The Senator representing Borno Central, Senator Ahmed Zannah, had also confirmed Reuters report.
But
the Borno State Deputy Governor told journalists at a news conference
in Maiduguri that the military was in full control of the security
situation in the town.
Although
Mustapha was silent on the casualty figure, he revealed that over 2,000
people who fled Bama had been resettled in the National Youths
Service Corps orientation camp and the Government Girls Secondary School
in Maiduguri.
He added, “The attack
on Bama yesterday (Monday) was very unfortunate; but I want to reassure
our people that government is on top of the situation. Already, those in
the camps are being taken care of and our security forces are engaging
the insurgents in a fierce battle which is worthy of commendation.”
Appealing
to the people to desist from creating unnecessary tension in the
state, he said he was “particularly happy for the cooperation we have
so far received from Gombe and Adamawa state governments.”
At
an earlier press conference in Maiduguri on Tuesday, the Chairman of
the Civilian JTF, Jubrin Gunda, had said that 35 insurgents were
arrested in Bama.
Gunda said the
report by some international media that quoted Senator Ahmed Zannah as
saying that the town had been overrun by the insurgents should be
discountenanced.
Admitting that the
insurgents attempted to overrun Bama, he said they were subdued by the
military at the periphery of the town.
Gunda,
who added that the death toll had risen to 180, said, “We categorically
deny and disassociate ourselves from an interview granted to some
foreign media by one Senator Ahmed Zannah as what he stated is not true
facts on the ground.
“More so, the
interview he granted has contributed in instilling fears in the minds of
citizens of Borno State, especially the residents of Maiduguri.”
“However,
we want to reassure the citizens of Borno State that, nobody should
panic and no one should leave Maiduguri because all that have been said
are mere rumours.
“All citizens should desist from making unguided and false information which will further frighten the citizens unnecessarily.”
Zannah had also told one of our correspondents over the telephone that the insurgents were in control of Bama.
He
said, “Like I said yesterday(Monday), Bama is in the hands of Boko
Haram, nothing has changed today(Tuesday). The Borno State Government is
trying to play politics with the issue. I don’t know if they are trying
to appease the military or the Federal Government.
“Even
this(Tuesday) morning, my brother’s two children were killed. Anybody
telling you that Boko Haram is not in control of Bama is telling a lie.
Many people were killed in the fighting.I don’t know the number because
there is no access to the place. Some of those who died have not even
been buried yet.”
Investigations
revealed that the military authorities had sent fighter jets during
hours of fierce fighting between troops and the insurgents early on
Tuesday.
A security source said that
the military leadership in the North-East had made preparation for the
strafing of the town by telling all the civilians and even military
personnel to relocate from the vicinity of areas under the control of
the insurgents.
It was learnt that
some security personnel and civilians who obeyed the advice were being
quartered at Sectors 8 and 9 in Maiduguri.
It was further gathered that the intensity of air attacks on the insurgents aided the soldiers in pushing them out of Bama.
As
of the time of filing this report, the insurgents were said to be
massing on the outskirts of Bama apparently to carry out another assault
on the town.
The security source said
that Monday’s attack by the insurgents was coordinated from Gwoza,
which the insurgents captured last week.
The
security source said that soldiers and the insurgents were still
engaged in a gun duel over the control of the town even though the
troops had been able to push them out of the town.
However,
there were fears in Maiduguri as some residents said it was time
for them to start planning relocating from the town.
One
of them , Sunday Emmanuel, said his apprehension was based on the
news filtering through Bama and the influx of people from the town into
Maiduguri.
He said, ‘‘There is
everything to believe that the insurgents are closing in on Maiduguri
with the capture of Damboa, Gwoza and now the attack on Bama.”
