JTF, Borno youths kill Boko Haram commander, arrest others

BARELY 48 hours after the Boko Haram gunmen killed 24 members of the Borno Vigilance Youths Group (BVYG) at the border town of Monguno, the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the youths yesterday killed a top Boko Haram commander (name withheld) and arrested five other terror suspects at Bama in Maiduguri. The arrests and killing, according to JTF sourcesSunday in Maiduguri, occurred when members of BVYG carried out a three-hour hunt for fleeing Boko Haram at Bama. The five suspects were arrested at the 777 Housing Estate and Gwange ward of Maiduguri. Bama is a border town with Cameroun and 78 kilometres east of Maiduguri, where over 100 people have been killed in several attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents since April this year. Speaking on Monguno’s attack and killing, the Chairman of Monguno Council, Alhaji Mohammed Nur Monguno, yesterday said that the youths were ambushed by members of the Islamist sect who disguised in military uniform, the same way they killed 14 vigilance youths last week at Bama. A surviving member of BVYG, Ibrahim Isa, also said they were ambushed by the Boko Haram gunmen in military uniform, who disguised as men of the JTF from Maiduguri to assist the vigilance youths hunt for fleeing sect members. Chairman of BVYG, Abubakar Mallum said: “Our members numbering over 100 were on a mission to capture some Boko Haram terror suspects in their camps around Kaleri, Shuwari, Maganari and Nannari villages before they were ambushed by the gunmen who killed 24 vigilante youths, while about 36 are still missing. “In fact, there was an initial arrangement with military troops that they will accompany the vigilante youths to the said Boko Haram camps in Monguno. But when the youths waited to see the arrival of the military men for some hours without response, they took courage to visit the area with a view to arresting the suspects. Unknowingly to them that the armed Boko Haram sect members disguised in military uniform with three captured patrol vehicles of the security agencies, the vigilante youths concluded that it was the military troops that went to the camp ahead of them. “As they approached the camps, the terrorists opened fire and killed about 15 of our members, while the other nine who were spiritually charmed against gunshots were killed by using their vehicles in crushing them. But as I am talking to you now, about 36 of the volunteered youths are still missing. We received an unconfirmed report that five of our members who escaped the attack with broken legs and hands injuries were rescued by some good Samaritans and are in one of the villages close to the camps where they are receiving treatment by the villagers.” A top politician and close associate of Governor Kashim Shettima; who did not want to be identified for security reasons, also confirmed the incident yesterday in Maiduguri to newsmen. The spokesman of Borno State Police Command, Gideon Jibrin, also confirmed that six terror suspects were arrested in Maiduguri by vigilante youths and handed over to JTF for further investigation. He added that a top Boko Haram commander was also shot dead in an encounter with troops at Bama Sunday.