Military Downplays Recapture of Marte as Explosion Rocks Damaturu Motor Park
Six killed, 27 injured by female suicide bomber
The Nigerian military is downplaying reports about the reoccupation of a border town in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents, saying it is a mere case of fleeing terrorists discovering a deserted town and deciding to shelter there. Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said Marte had been deserted before the recent infiltration by insurgents. He said the military, which had retaken the town from the terrorists in February, maintained only a scanty presence there, with occasional patrols, due to their involvement with operations to dislodge the insurgents from their forest enclaves.
In a related development, six people died and about 27 others were injured yesterday in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, when a female suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device at the entrance of the Damaturu central motor park, which borders a popular market.
Olukolade said in a statement yesterday there was no cause for alarm over the Marte incident.
The statement said, “There has not been any static deployment of troops in Marte for quite some time in line with the need to emphasise more aggressive patrol of many threatened isolated communities while the assault on the forests and mountain hideouts of terrorists is on-going.
“Only occasional patrols and surveillance have been undertaken towards the area, as the bulk of troops are engaged in the operation to clear the terrorists from all identified enclaves in the forest.
“Besides, Marte had been deserted by citizens, most of whom had fled to other towns while others are in IDP camps located in Maiduguri and other places.
“It is understandable that those terrorists escaping from the offensive operations in Sambisa and other enclaves are looking for place of respite. They must have found the Marte deserted and decided to harbour there.
“Now that their presence is reported, the issue will definitely be addressed in a very short while.
“There is really no cause for alarm in the way some reports are presenting this situation, as if it is a meaningful resurgence of terrorists. This will only fool the terrorists and their sympathisers into false celebration.
“There will, certainly, be no respite for terrorists anywhere in Nigeria. Wait and see.”
A reliable military source corroborated the account of the Defence Headquarters. The source told THISDAY, “The reports making the rounds are wrong. It is not as if Boko Haram is holding ground or defeated any security forces.
“Boko Haram, no matter their strength and size, cannot get close to the entrance of Maiduguri. The person who gave that information (on Marte capture) has been misinformed. Everything is green for now.”
The source spoke against the backdrop of Wednesday’s failed bid by Boko Haram to enter Maiduguri. The military Thursday imposed a 24-hour curfew in the Borno State capital hours after troops successfully repelled Boko Haram fighters who, apparently, attempted to overrun the city on Wednesday night. Hundreds of the insurgents had attempted to enter Maiduguri through Jere Local Government Area. A gun duel between soldiers and the terrorists, which lasted for over one hour, forced the latter to retreat.
It emerged at the weekend that Boko Haram had used girl-child suicide bombers in their desperate bid to enter Maiduguri. A source in the military said the terrorists planned to infiltrate the Borno State capital with many suicide bombers to create an atmosphere of chaos and panic.
The source disclosed, “When the Boko Haram came almost close to Giwa Barracks, they came with about seven Toyota Hilux vehicles parked with about eight suicide girls. The girls came out and were approaching the soldiers at a checkpoint.”
He said the soldiers, being aware of the suicide bombers’ method, opened fire on them, killing three and injuring the others. He said the terrorists, some of whom were killed, abandoned their vehicles and fled on seeing the superior firepower of the military. “The vehicles were moved to Garrison Headquarters.”
An eye witness in Damaturu, Abubakar Idris, told THISDAY by telephone that the fatal bomb explosions in the town occurred about 11:45am yesterday.
Following the incident, residents besieged the Damaturu Specialist Hospital, where the dead and injured were taken, to find out if their relatives were affected by the blast. Medical director of the hospital, Dr. Garba Musa Fika, told journalists that 27 injured persons were brought to the hospital from the scene of the blast. He said of all the people that were brought to the hospital, six had been confirmed dead while 27 were being treated. He also said among the 27 being treated, seven were critically injured and may be referred to either the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, in the state or Azare in neighbouring Bauchi State.
The state governor, Ibrahim Geidam, who visited the hospital to sympathise with the victims of the explosion, condemned the act and stressed that his administration will foot the medical bills of all the victims. Geidam directed the hospital authorities to speed up the treatments and work out modalities for the referral cases for urgent medical attention. He consoled the families of those killed in the blast and called on residents to be more vigilant and to always assist the security agents in the fight terrorism. The governor pledged the support of his administration to the antiterrorism fight, assuring that terrorism will soon be a thing of the past.
Deputy Governor of the Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Mustapha, had while lamenting the reported recapture of Marte by Boko Haram last week revealed that there were security reports that the sect had released about 600 female suicide bombers into the state to carry out various attacks. But he appealed to the residents of the state to remain calm and be patient with the military in the state.