2,043 IDPs return home in Borno
Gunfire and explosions were heard when a dozen Boko Haram gun-trucks drove into Gajiram town of Borno State shooting sporadically.
Fleeing residents said the attackers engaged security operatives safeguarding the town which is about 80 kilometres away from Maiduguri.
The residents said there was a fierce battle between the attackers and the security agents before the attack was repelled.
Confirming the attack yesterday, the police spokesman in the state, DSP Edet Okon, said on Monday at about 5:40pm, heavily armed Boko Haram terrorists in about 11 guntrucks attacked Gajiram town, headquarters of Nganzai LGA.
“Police personnel deployed to the area alongside troops of the Nigerian military engaged the terrorists and promptly repelled the attack,” he said, adding that there was no casualty on the side of the police.
Meanwhile, reinforcement has been mobilised and deployed to the town. About 2,043 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), comprising 378 households, have returned to their communities in Guzamala Local Government Area of northern Borno State.
The IDPs, who were living in Bakassi IDP Camp in Maiduguri, are being accompanied with military escort.
Army spokesman at the Theatre Command in Maiduguri, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said this in a statement yesterday.
He said the IDPs were among the first batch of those who willingly expressed the desire to return to their communities and resume their farming and fishing, as well as other socio-economic activities.
He quoted the Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Rogers Nicholas, saying during the flag-off of the movement at the Bakassi IDP Camp, that the earnest desire of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has been to ensure that IDPs who are willing, return home to begin a normal life.
He assured the returnee IDPs of adequate protection while they resettle, adding that Operation Last Hold has been inaugurated in the theatre to operationally cover the locality and other communities.
The Theatre Commander also urged wellmeaning Nigerians and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to support returnee IDPs with farming implements and other relief materials to enable them settle quickly.
Also addressing the returnee IDPs, the Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement to the Borno State Government, Professor Babagana Umara, assured them of the support of the Borno State Government as they return home.
The District Head of Guzamala, Zanna Arjunmo, said the situation has greatly improved in Guzamala local government, adding that the military had assured them of protection.
“I am happy because my people are now going back after six years at the displaced persons’ camps. It is a thing of joy, we are returning back because security agencies assured us and the situation is improving daily,” Zanna said.