UPDATE: Boko Haram Attack: Relative calm in Maiduguri following bombardment by fighter jets

*Insurgents freed colleagues from barracks There is a sigh of relief in parts of the troubled city of Maiduguri following aerial bombardment of Boko Haram terrorists by military aircrafts. Credible sources said the insurgents “have gained access into the Giwa Barracks” and freed dozens of their members held in custody. But the source added that, […]

*Insurgents freed colleagues from barracks

There is a sigh of relief in parts of the troubled city of Maiduguri following aerial bombardment of Boko Haram terrorists by military aircrafts.

Credible sources said the insurgents “have gained access into the Giwa Barracks” and freed dozens of their members held in custody.

But the source added that, “Following a reinforcement and arrival of fighter aircrafts, the terrorists were intercepted and effectively neutralized.”

Sources said there was “prompt” intervention by two fighter jets that dropped explosives on the ravaging Boko Haram insurgents   who attempted “coordinated and elaborate onslaught” on Maiduguri.

After sustained fighting between 7.04am and 9.15am, absolute silence enveloped the state capital. No sound of blasts and no sound of gunfire.

“Some sources in the security circle said, “The terrorists have been subdued though it is not yet over.”

“Honestly speaking they were well prepared and ready to fight to finish but we are confronting them,” one of the sources said.

Residents around the new GRA, University of Maiduguri, Fouri, 202 and 303 Housing Estates and Bama road said fighter jets had dropped “numerous bombs” on the attackers.

“In 202, hundreds of bullets dropped on our roofs and some penetrated our rooms and palours but there is calm now,” Janet Sam, a student said.

It is not yet clear how many people died so far but  sources at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital said many civilian corpses had been deposited it. “Some people are also here receiving treatment from the gunshot injuries they sustained,” a source at the hospital said.

The situation is the same at the State Specialists Hospital.

At the University of Maiduguri, it is also not clear the damage done to structures but most male students on campus have fled, while female students who had earlier converged on Aisha Hall and Titanic two of the female hostels have relocated to classrooms in the northern end of the university.

“We were told by the porters in our hostels to leave and stay in classrooms, they said it is safer,” Halima Yunus, a 300 level students told our reporter by phone.

 

EARLIER…

Suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect this morning launched a daring attack on Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Sources said the assailants sneaked into Maiduguri and divided themselves into groups, some headed towards the Giwa Barracks, some stormed the University of Maiduguri, some waylaid Fouri-a thriving settlement of elites and locals while hundreds of others stormed  parts of the new GRA.

“They set many houses on fire in Fouri and killed innocent people… I escaped by the grace of God,” Jamila Yusuf, a married woman told our correspondent by phone.

“I saw dead bodies and many people with gunshots. The gunmen came to our area in droves, they wore flowing gowns and brandished guns, chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they set houses on fire,” she said.

The suprised morning attack shook unsuspecting residents who had started celebrating the return of peace in the state capital following the recent raid at the Sambisa Forest by combined forces that led to the killing of hundreds of insurgents and sacking of training camps.

A fighter jet was also seen hovering around the Giwa Barracks.

Multiple sounds of exploding bombs that started around 7.04am are still roaring even as many families have fled their homes.

“There is thick smoke billowing. The assailants are hurling explosives into the Giwa Barracks and the multitude of soldiers inside the barracks are firing back,” Hamisu Musa, who leaves not far from the barracks said.

“At present, thick smoke is billowing from the direction of the barrack…no one can tell whether the attackers have entered the barrack or not but fighting is ongoing,” he said.

The 21 Brigade Giwa Barracks is the lifewire of the military in Borno State before the establishment of the 7 Division Of the Nigerian Army.

Details are sketchy but sources said the terrorists, in their hundreds stormed Maiduguri through the River Ngadda which feeds the Alo Dam.

There is pondemonium in the city as many parents have dropped their children in school.