Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
The United Nations has flayed the Easter day attack by Boko Haram insurgents that left no fewer than 18 persons among them a soldier dead and 83 others injured.
Coming against the backdrop of a subsisting “ceasefire agreement” reached between the Federal Government and Boko Haram which culminated in the return of abducted 111 Dapchi schoolgirl, some insurgents with their suicide bombers had attempted to penetrate Maiduguri city through the Cashew plantation at the back of Giwa Barrack of the Nigerian Army on Sunday night at about 8:10pm but were confronted by military troops in the area.
The insurgents, however, diverted to two communities- Bille Shuwa and Alikaranti- at the edge of the city after troops killed six of their men in nearly an hour gun battle, security sources and villagers said.
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Maiduguri office confirmed that 18 people were killed but the military put the figure at 15.
Spokesman of Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu in a statement said the insurgents “met with stiff resistance of troops” who killed six of the insurgents and neutralised seven suicide bombers in the encounter.
“The insurgents retreated and callously resorted to attacking locals who, reacting to the encounter were fleeing in confusion from Bille Shuwa and Alkaranti villages with Person Borne Improvised Explosive Device.
Sadly, 15 persons including a soldier have so far been confirmed dead in the encounter, while about 83 persons who suffered varying degrees of injuries are receiving due medical attention,” he said.
He said troops recovered two AK 47 rifles and two magazines.
“Troops are still on the trail of the insurgents. More details will be communicated as further clarifications are made,” he disclosed.
But quoting local sources, the United Nations Humanitarian office in Nigeria said 34 people were killed and 90 injured.
Condemning the attack, the UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Yassine Gaba said in a statement that the world has seen a “steady continuation of attacks on civilians in three most conflict-affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.”
It said at least 120 civilians have been killed and over 210 persons sustained serious injuries in over 22 attacks by “non-state armed groups” including Boko Haram.
“Innocent civilians continue to suffer daily from direct and indiscriminate attacks in the North-East of Nigeria. Endless numbers of explosions, brutal killings, abductions and lootings continue to uproot the lives of women, children and men daily,” said Gaba.
Boko Haram’s nearly nine-year fight to establish a hardline Islamic state in the north has claimed at least 20,000 lives and displaced more than two million people.
Hundreds of thousands are holed up in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, where they are living in camps or with host families.
Last Friday, four-girl suicide bombers aged between 13 and 18 killed two people in multiple attacks in Zawuya settlement on the outskirts of Maiduguri in the first assault since the government announced it was in ceasefire talks with Boko Haram.
Last month, when 105 schoolgirls were returned to Dapchi, after being kidnapped by Boko Haram, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said his government was offering amnesty to “repentant” jihadists.