The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno on Tuesday successfully repelled an attack on its convoy of military personnel by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect in Maiduguri.
The Field Commander of JTF Operation, Col. Victor Ebhaleme, said that the suspects had laid ambush for a JTF patrol team at Bulumkutu-Kasuwa area of Maiduguri, but were flushed out by the operatives.
He said the gunmen, who were in a golf car, had laid ambush for the patrol team, but were detected by the security team who engaged them in an exchange of fire.
“Fortunately enough, the security men sighted them and engaged them in a serious shoot-out before we succeeded in chasing them away.”
Ebhaleme said that no casualty was recorded during the shoot-out which forced the suspects to flee, leaving behind their vehicle.
He appealed to the public to stop accommodating criminals and continue to support the JTF to facilitate the restoration of peace in the state.
“People should always report suspicious movement in their areas to security operatives so that criminals can be flushed out of the state.”
In a similar development, the Joint Security Information Managers (JSIM) has arrested 13 suspected Boko Haram sect members in connection with the Nov. 4 bombing at Maiduguri in Borno and Damaturu in Yobe, Commodore Kabiru Aliyu, has announced.
Aliyu, the Navy Director of Information, who spoke on behalf of other managers at a news conference on Monday in Abuja, said the suspects were being detained at a military facility.
He said that no soldier died when the sect attacked the headquarters of the JTF in Maiduguri contrary to reports that two soldiers were killed, adding that only three suicide bombers died in the incident.
“All the suicide bombers died in the failed attempt. In Damaturu, those responsible, 13 of them, have been arrested and are currently being held in a detention facility within the country. ”
Aliyu said that efforts by the JTF to mop up arms, ammunition and explosive devices in Maiduguri and other cities in the north East were yielding positive results.
He said that media reports on the state of security in Borno and Yobe States were not true reflections of the situation, saying that normalcy had returned to both places with business activities picking up.
Aliyu commended the people of Borno for their resilience, in spite of repeated Boko Haram attacks, adding that there had been remarkable improvement in the passage of information by members of the public to the security agencies.
He said that with the collaboration of the people, a lot would be achieved in the effort to address the security challenges in the area and enthrone sustainable peace.
The Director of Defence Information, Col. Mohammed Yerima, Director of Air Force Information, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas and representative of the spokesman of the Nigeria Police, Mr Mr. Seji Ezegam, attended the briefing.
Aliyu also spoke on the activities of the JTF in the Niger delta, saying that the task force was facing fresh challenge in terms of illegal oil bunkering in the area.
According to him, operatives of the JTF have arrested 85 suspects and three vessels, identified as MV Victor 1, MV Omiesan, and MV Zia, in connection with illegal bunkering in the past three months.
He also said that the task force had also destroyed more than 750 illegal refineries in the Niger Delta and destroyed 100 barges of various sizes with stolen and illegally refined petroleum products around the Imo River.