24 hours to presidential polls…2 killed, 7 injured in Maiduguri attack
“The teenagers were scavenging on a heap of refuse around 8.30am, Friday, April 15 when they saw the gunmen approaching. The gunmen, in their early 20s, followed the ground level of the Lagos Bridge route probably to evade the countless security posts mounted by the Joint Task Force (JTF) of the military and the police,” […]
“The teenagers were scavenging on a heap of refuse around 8.30am, Friday, April 15 when they saw the gunmen approaching. The gunmen, in their early 20s, followed the ground level of the Lagos Bridge route probably to evade the countless security posts mounted by the Joint Task Force (JTF) of the military and the police,” Salisu Dauda, one of the victims who were hit, said.
Salisu, who spoke at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), said the children drew his attention and that of other passers-by. “Unfortunately, one of the gunmen overheard our conversation and therefore fled on the motorcycle. On the other hand, we vigorously pursued the other gunman while some people alerted the nearby soldiers who immediately joined us in the trail. Trouble started when the gunman got a vintage position behind a fallen tree and hastily removed his gun and started firing at us…he really took all of us unawares, including the soldiers.”
Sama’ila, the scavenger who spoke in Hausa also recounted how he became a victim of the attack. “The gunmen looked quite unassuming; they rode on a motorcycle as if they were looking for a short-cut through the slums of the popular Lagos Bridge area and when we realized their mission, we also joined in the chase for one of them and in the process, I found myself on this hospital bed,” he said. He called on the state and the federal government to assist and foot their hospital bills.
Secretary of UMTH Dr. Bashir Mustapha said the two soldiers that were attacked had sustained serious injuries. “As I am talking to you now, one of them is in the intensive care unit (ICU) while the other one is undergoing surgery in the main theatre,” he said.
Mr. Mike Zuokumor, the state Police Commissioner also confirmed the attack. “We have also launched serious surveillance in collaboration with sister agencies. Containing guerilla warfare is not easy but we are doing our best to get to the root of the attacks,” he said. The commissioner said intelligence reports had suggested that the Boko Haram group have a list of the people that they want to eliminate.
Many people including clerics, police, army and ward heads have been killed, allegedly by suspected Boko Haram members who began the operation shortly after the July 2009 uprising.
It is believed they are targeting people who played active roles in quelling the 2008 Yusufiyya uprising in Borno, Yobe and Bauchi States. Our correspondent reports that the build-up to last Saturday’s parliamentary elections had played host to the killing of no fewer than sixteen people including security agents and politicians. Some scholars and politicians have suggested a new approach to the security issue in Borno State, including the need to have a forum with the gunmen, akin to what the federal government did for Niger Delta militants.