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****** Nigeria: 33 Boko Haram Followers Killed ******
Hamza Idris
30 July 2009
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Damaturu — A combined team of army and police yesterday launched a reprisal
attack and killed 33 members of the Boko Haram sect at their hideout in Mamudo
village, near Potiskum town of Yobe State.
The sect members had attacked Potiskum town on Monday and killed at least five
people, including three police officers.
In yesterday's counter attack, the armed personnel ambushed the extremists
around 8 am and opened fire on them, using armoured tanks and sophisticated
weapons.
Two members of the sect who fled from the scene were later arrested in Potiskum
while another two were captured in Fika town following a tip off from members
of the public, Yobe State Commissioner of Police Mohammed Abbas Murtala said at
a news conference in Damaturu, the state capital.
He said the arrest of the sect members would assist security agents to obtain
vital information about their hideouts, strengths and sponsors.
Before the reprisal attack, the insurgents, numbering about 50, had in the
early hours of the day reportedly blocked the Maiduguri-Kano highway and
disrupted the movement of vehicles.
In the ensuing confusion, they were said to have also snatched a Hilux truck
belonging to the state's Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
The commissioner said that, with the latest onslaught on the sect members whom
he described as hoodlums, "security forces have depleted their number and
strength."
He said the army and police are still combing all the surrounding villages and
hideouts with the aim of arresting the remaining members of the sect.
The charred remains of the 33 corpses which police sources said included the
Yobe State chairman of the Boko Haram sect were later displayed at the police
headquarters in the state.
Our correspondent saw many of the dead bearded insurgents, wearing boots and
other jungle apparels. The commissioner said the joint task force did not
record any casualty during the latest encounter.
He said items recovered at the scene of the battle include: six rifles, two
pistols, one dane gun, three AK 47 empty magazines, two FNC empty magazines,
two pistol empty magazines, 32 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunitions and 81 rounds
of .9mm live ammunitions.
Other items recovered by the team, according to the commissioner, are: one
Nokia (1100) handset, bows and arrows, daggers, machetes, catapults, knives, a
copy of the Holy Quran, N25,300 in cash as well as a Peugeot J5 with
registration number XA 888 MKA and another Hiace bus with registration number
XB 591 KTG.
The commissioner who solicited the support of the public towards arresting the
feeing members of the sect said some of them would be seen with fresh bullet
wounds.
Meanwhile, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has described the sect, led by Ustaz
Mohammed Yusuf, as an embarrassment to Islam and called on governors of
northern Nigeria to rise up and address economic and social problems in order
the encourage youths to desist from restiveness.
Gaidam, who was at the state police headquarters were he saw the corpses of the
33 sect members, wondered how the youths were persuaded to join the sect which
he said "did not reflect the true meaning of Islam in all respect."
He said: "Islam is a religion of peace which preaches peace and peaceful
coexistence. There is nowhere in the Holy Qur'an that a Muslim should kill his
fellow brother or any other innocent soul."
Copyright © 2009 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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