Attacks on military leave unanswered questions in Maiduguri

“Where were the Air Force personnel when the terrorists scaled the fence of their buildings and burnt five aircrafts including three brand new ones? Where were the Air Force personnel when all the buildings in their barracks were destroyed? Where were the soldiers at the artillery brigade when the insurgents destroyed the gate and destroyed […]

“Where were the Air Force personnel when the terrorists scaled the fence of their buildings and burnt five aircrafts including three brand new ones? Where were the Air Force personnel when all the buildings in their barracks were destroyed? Where were the soldiers at the artillery brigade when the insurgents destroyed the gate and destroyed everything therein?” These were some of the questions that Major Sam Mathias, a retired military officer, asked.
Retired Major Mathias also frowned at military authorities for being “economical with the truth.” “How on earth would the two big formations be destroyed and you said nobody was killed? The military said they have killed 24 insurgents, agreed, but where are the corpses?” he asked.
He also raised eyebrows on a said security report purporting that the Boko Haram insurgents had perfected plans to attack all the security formations in Maiduguri and environs. “What happened to the security report?” he asked.
The questions on the lips of many people in Maiduguri sound more confusing.
“Now that barracks and military hardware are being destroyed with impunity, what becomes of lives, business premises and houses of civilians? Are we really safe,” Hajiya Falmata Kolo, a civil servant asked.
Insurgents in a night raid last week targeted the 79 Composite Group of the Nigerian Air Force as well as the 333 Artillery Regiment of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, destroying aircrafts and buildings.
Our correspondent reports that the latest attack by the Boko Haram militants has left a scar in the psyche of both the military and civilians in Maiduguri.
At the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), a source who spoke on condition anonymity said 25 dead bodies had been deposited there between Monday and Thursday.
“Some are in uniforms and some in plain clothes,” the source said.
Another source at the state Specialists Hospital said 10 bodies were deposited on the day of the incident. “Two more dead bodies were brought in onTuesday by the military,” he said.
The attacks have elicited questions on the efficacy of what residents described as “abrupt security measures” which are put in place whenever there is an attack.
The residents were apparently referring to the 24-hour curfew imposed on Maiduguri, the state capital after the suspected members of the Boko Haram wreaked havoc and fled.
The curfew was reviewed after about 30 hours, forcing poor residents to remain indoors without any preparation.
Our correspondent reports that before the curfew was lifted the second day, residents who defied the order and went out looking for basic needs were allegedly arrested and molested by security forces.
Many of them alleged that they were manhandled, forced to frog-jump and kept in the sun for hours.
“It is like the military operatives are venting their frustrations on us the poor and vulnerable civilians. It is sad, everybody is doing what he likes,” Hala Kamal, a panel beater, who said he was arrested by some soldiers around Wulari, said.
“After beating the hell out of me, the soldiers described me a useless civilian that does not know anything,” he narrated.
A journalist said he was nearly shot by angry air force personnel along the Baga road.
“I showed them my ID card but they yelled at me, insisting that I should kneel down and join others to do frog-jump. They continued to express anger against everyone. We left there after staying for over 6 hours,” he said.
Observers believe that the latest attack was the biggest in Maiduguri in recent times and that the development has depleted the relative peace that had been thriving in the capital for four months.
“We have repeatedly observed that the peace we enjoyed in the capital in the past few months was akin to the peace of the graveyard and what happened on Monday has proved us right,” Barrister Aliyu Isiak, a legal practitioner, said.
“Honestly speaking, something is significantly wrong with the architecture of the security operation here… We are really under siege because if the military operatives cannot protect themselves, it will be foolhardy for us to live under the illusion that we are secure,” he said.
Checks in Maiduguri also reveal that most people are not happy with recent development.
“We are tired of the state of emergency imposed on us and the federal government should remove it. We are tired of all the checkpoints mounted on our streets that have crippled our businesses. We are saying no to curfews that have no any effect.
“If the soldiers are serious, they should take the war to the insurgents in the bush and stop causing unnecessary hardship to vulnerable civilians,” Ado Suleiman, a guard, said.
Saidu Fajewa, a tea vendor who lives near the military base that was attacked at Ngomari said from all indications, the Boko Haram insurgents are becoming more sophisticated.
Fejewa acknowledged what he called “bravery” of the lower ranked military operatives whom he said were doing their best in confronting the insurgents.
“From what we heard, there were even women commanders among the insurgents and they came in with impunity and left jubilating. This is a source of concern,” he said.
“In the morning, we saw dead, it was fearful. We thought it was the end of the world. The fighting became terrifying when a fast moving aircraft came shooting, we had to lie down in our rooms. In the morning, we saw corpses, but the soldiers didn’t allow us to go nearer when some military trucks came to evacuate them,” he said.
Apart from one or two in villages, no military barracks or police station is standing between Damaturu and Maiduguri, which is a distance of about 132 kilometers, due to consistent attacks by the Boko Haram, making road-users vulnerable to attacks. The situation is the same in the four major roads leading to Maiduguri from neighboring states, as well as Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
“We would not be cowed, this is our land, we would remain here to salvage it or die,” said Governor Kashim Shettima, after assessing the damages done to the military formations.
For now, the question on the lips of everyone is that since barracks are being attacked, when will Maiduguri and other places in Borno State be safe?