While Senate President David Mark described the attack on Damaturu as “frightening” during a motion on the issue raised by Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) last Tuesday, the senators however said the gallantry displayed by the military during the fight showed that the insurgency war could be won in the end. Even as they commended the gallantry of the troops, residents of Damaturu said it would have been better for them to ensure that the insurgents are completely routed from communities surrounding Damaturu.
They noted for instance that the terrorists are virtually living like kings in Buni Yadi, which is about 40 kilometres to Damaturu, where over 40 students were slaughtered by them many months ago. They argued that the attack would have been avoided if the soldiers had gone to confront the insurgents there. This argument cannot be faulted given the fact that the insurgents re-grouped at Garin Itace, a settlement about 20 kilometres to Damaturu, early last Wednesday to re-launch an attack on Damaturu. But they were stopped by timely information provided to the military by local residents which resulted in deployment of fighter jets to halt the advance of the insurgents.
The grisly photographs of bloodstained walls, rugs and shoes left behind by the over 100 victims of Boko Haram attacks on Kano Central Mosque graced pages of newspapers last Monday, a sad momento of precious lives cut short by the insurgents in Kano, the most populated city in northern Nigeria, the previous Friday. Kano, one of the cities that have witnessed mass killings by Boko Haram, including the one in January 2011 that claimed over 200 lives, was thrown into confusion on Friday 29 November when bombers and gunmen struck during the Jumat prayers at the Central Mosque situated right next to the Emir of Kano’s palace.
Survivors of the attack told journalists that three bombs were detonated in the crowded mosque as the Friday sermon that would have led to prayers was about to end. It was gathered that two others detonated at the gates which lead to the mosque from the palace. It was gathered that the militants also took advantage of the confusion that followed the multiple explosions to unleash further havoc by opening gunfire on the worshippers. However, three of the gunmen were captured right inside the mosque and were immediately burnt to death. Some witnesses said when the police eventually arrived, officers also killed several others in the guise of dispersing the angry crowd.
The militants had also last Wednesday, detonated a roadside bomb in ambush of soldiers and hunters on the mission of flushing them out from Mubi, the second biggest city in Adamawa State, and its environs. The soldiers were ambushed in Mararaba, a settlement barely 18km from Mubi, which was only recently liberated from the insurgents by Nigerian troops in collaboration with local hunters. The attack resulted in the death of at least 10 soldiers and 35 hunters. There were also reports as this story was being written last Thursday of attacks by the insurgents on Bajoga, a town in Gombe State. The town is host to Ashaka Cement plant, which was raided by the sect last month during which they reportedly carted away four Toyota Hilux van-load of explosives. It was gathered that Nigerian troops killed over 100 Boko Haram militants in the area between Sunday and Wednesday night in renewed operations to recover territory from the insurgents.
The string of attacks unleashed across North-East Nigeria in the past two weeks are in continuance of the escalation of their operations since Nigerian government announced that it was negotiating a ceasefire peace deal brokered by Chad with the sect in October. But the huge relief promised by the ceasefire deal soon evaporated as the militant sect seemed to have up scaled its insurgent activities, attacking and occupying more town and villages which it declared part of its Caliphate. Indeed, Mubi, the hometown of Alex Badeh, Nigeria’s chief of Defence Staff who first gleefully announced that the government was involved in ceasefire talks with the insurgents, as well as Vintim, were some of the settlements taken over by the insurgents when they were supposed to be observing a ceasefire in their fight with Nigeria.
Emir, Sultan, Ulamas Fatwa Against Boko Haram
The massive displacement of people which swelled up camps in different parts of North-East Nigeria during the supposed peace deal further reinforced the argument that the insurgents were not ready to sheathe their swords. Those suspicious of the ceasefire deal were eventually proved right when, in a video released on 1 November, Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram sect, denied entering into any ceasefire talks with the Nigerian government. “Since the failed October Surprise, Boko Haram has escalated its terror and hardly a week has passed without news of its bombings and seizing of territories. Last Friday’s Kano Grand Mosque attack was merely the most shocking in recent months,” veteran journalist, Mallam Haruna Mohammed, said in his weekly column last Wednesday. Last Tuesday, General Kenneth Minimah, the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, agreed at the Annual Conference 2014 held in Akwa Ibom State that the military has in recent times not fully lived up to its responsibility of ensuring security, peace and stability of the country.
The COAS noted that while upsurge of terrorism and violent extremism in the North-East has remained the most significant threat facing the country toda, the military has not fully risen up to the occasion by reining in the insurgents. He therefore declared that the conference would be undertaking a review of ongoing operations in the North-East, with a view to bringing a speedy end to the reign of terror unleashed on innocent Nigerians by the terrorists.
But leaders who are seeing their people slaughtered in scores and at will by the insurgents cannot afford the luxury of waiting for the military to review its strategy. Hence, there have been calls on the people to rise up and defend themselves against the insurgents. An increasing number of communities in the North-East, in response to such calls are engaging a group of hunters as a standby force against Boko Haram. Now, many analysts believe that the call for self defence, especially to Muslims, may have been responsible for the attack on the Kano mosque.
Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, regarded as one of the most influential Muslim leaders in Nigeria, had on 16 November asked the people of the city to defend themselves against attacks by the Boko Haram sect, instead of allowing themselves to be killed cheaply. The Emir tasked residents to “acquire what they need” to protect themselves at a meeting organised to pray against increasing attacks by Boko Haram. “These terrorists slaughter our boys and abduct our girls to force them into slavery. People should not sit idle and say prayer is the only solution. People should be made aware of the importance of being in a state of preparedness and make sure they acquire what they need to protect themselves. We should be ready to give our lives,” the Emir, who addressed the congregation in Hausa, said while urging Kano residents not to wait for the military which has failed in its duty of defending them before acting.
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