Again, gory tales from Damaturu

The fear and anxiety among residents continued unabated till around 10.am of the next morning. But before then, over 12 high profile bombs exploded and thousands of bullets fired at all directions. It was indeed a war between members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnati Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram and operatives of […]

The fear and anxiety among residents continued unabated till around 10.am of the next morning. But before then, over 12 high profile bombs exploded and thousands of bullets fired at all directions. It was indeed a war between members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnati Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram and operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF).

In between the two opposing forces lies thousands of vulnerable civilians, including civil servants, traders, students and travellers heading to other parts of Nigeria from Maiduguri as well as neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Central African Republic.

These people, including women and children were caught at the crossroad while the violence ensued even as a 24-hour curfew was slammed on the town which also lasted for the next 48-hours.

Throughout the period, there was uncertainty as to how many people were killed and places that were either burnt or bombed. Initially, there were media reports that the insurgents had burnt the private residence of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam and that they had also made advanced move to take over the Government House.

It was only on Thursday that the true picture of the whole imbroglio came to light with a startling revelation that over 90 people were killed.

Shortly after Yobe State Government eased the 24- hour curfew imposed on the state capital, which gave the people the relative freedom to go out for six hours from 10am to 4pm in order to scout for what to eat, health officials and humanitarian agencies began to take dead bodies to the hospital, many already decomposing and others completely decapitated.

While sanitation men had to bury some of the unclaimed corpses, relatives and acquaintances of the dead bodies who could be identified went to the hospital and picked their loved ones for proper burial.

It will actually take a long time to unravel the mystery behind the killings, as some residents are pointing accusing fingers at the JTF for alleged “extra judicial killing of civilians.”

That notwithstanding, it was like the end of time while the crisis lasted. Some traders were in their shops and had to remain there till the ban on movement was lifted.  Hundreds of students who were in schools equally got trapped in their classes while some civil servants converted their offices into guest houses, with no water or food to eat for the next two days.

The secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Yobe State, Mr. Peter Oguche said six churches -.

COCIN Church in Shagari low-cost and another one at Bakin-kogi, Unity Chapel, Goodness Church, Christ Chosen Church and Redeem Assembly – were destroyed

The state Commissioner for Education Alhaji Malla Musti who briefed the governor at the affected sites, said all the schools burnt were four in number and called for prompt response as the schools are key to the educational development of the state.

The schools, according to him include   Bundigari, Pompomari and Central primary schools as well as the Day Secondary School at the 3-Bedroom Housing Estate, all in the state capital.

“May this be the end of the catastrophes befalling us,” Larai Sani, a civil servant who stayed in the office for two days told Weekly Trust.

The experience of some people who were in their houses when the crisis erupted was equally that of agony and pain.

“I have 14 children and three wives and as you know, virtually everybody in Damaturu relied on borehole to get water for domestic use. As soon as the trouble started, all the public boreholes stopped working and the little water we had finished before the next morning,” Malam Abu, a resident of Sani Daura Estate said.

He said the experience of the last crisis was unforgettable.

Residents said on that fateful Monday, crises erupted around 5.00pm and continued unabated, a development that forced the state capital to a standstill with only thick smoke that overshadowed the moonlight.

Sources said the clamp down was sparked off by the arrest of a suspected member of the Boko Haram earlier in the day in Damaturu who allegedly died in custody of security agencies.

It was also learnt from reliable sources that about 25 members of the dreaded sect were arrested at Yindiski area in Potiskum, 120km away from the state capital.

A source at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu confirmed that trouble started at the hospital around 5pm when some soldiers took a suspected member of the sect to the hospital for treatment.

“He was brought to the Accident and Emergency section with some bullet wounds for treatment. He was alive when they brought him. However, when we were about treating him, we heard endless gunshots behind the perimeter fence of the hospital and some of the soldiers mobilized to the direction of the gunshots and fired back while the remaining soldiers took the suspect away,” the source said.

“It was from here that the fighting escalated to many parts of the city in what looked like a coordinated attacks,” the source said.

The Yobe JTF Commander Colonel Dahiru Abdulsalam said his men had observed uttermost caution in handling the two-day insurgency and had done a lot in assisting the people.

“We had earlier distributed our hotlines all across the state for the people to report any suspicious activities. The GSM numbers came in handy as a lot of people were trapped, either in their shops, offices or other places of their endeavours.

“Since the curfew was not meant to punish anybody, we had to do our best to alleviate the sufferings of all those trapped in various locations by taking them to their homes,” he said.

Zabu Dagona, the secretary of the Red Cross Society in Yobe State corroborated what the JTF commander said, “we worked very closely with the JTF and rescued many people who were trapped on their way home during the crisis.

“We have re-united many people with their families and rendered support to those in distress, especially in providing food and drugs,” he said.

But despite the intervention, many people, including doctors and nurses, bankers and teachers remained trapped in their places of work right from Monday until Thursday.

“I would definitely seek for one week leave,” a nurse at the Sani Abacha Specialists Hospital said.

Vice Chancellor of the Bukar Abba University, Damaturu, Professor Musa Alabe equally went to rescue some off campus students who were trapped in school. “As you know, some of them were caught up by the 24-hour curfew and they have nothing to eat. So, we have to at least intervene, to cushion the effect.  I called the JTF to escort me to the school and they obliged,” he said.

Governor Ibrahim Gaidam who went round and saw all the damages done in Damaturu has described the act as “sad and unfortunate.”

He said he will repair all the schools and churches, but was quick to add that what happened has adversely affected the development drive of the state.

Though the Yobe State Police Commissioner, Patrick Egbuniwe confirmed that about 40 people including four policemen, two soldiers and 34 insurgents were killed in the crisis and that four other  policemen sustained injury, the sight at the mortuary of the specialists hospital tells a lot about the magnitude of the attack.

Weekly Trust reports that whenever there is an attack in Damaturu, the end of the siege always leaves a deepening scar on the small state capital.

Over 150 people including civilians, army, SSS, Immigrations and Customs lost their lives during a similar attack in Damaturu on November 4, 2011.

And about two months ago, over 200 people were killed following a siege on the popular Potiskum Cattle Market.

In all, over 500 people had been killed in the last seven months in Yobe State alone and the question on the lips of many residents is when the carnage will end. They also ask if really military might will be the way out of the mess.

Despite the freedom of six hours per day given to residents on Damaturu, many of them are skeptical about coming out for fear of the unknown.

On the first day of the freedom, an improvised explosive device (IED) which did not explode was found at a busy location along Kano road in Damaturu. Shortly after the discovery, traders hurriedly closed their shops and fled home even before the six hour grace lapsed.