The Islamist sect, Boko Haram, yesterday lost at least 60 of its members during a five-hour daylight attack it launched on the Giwa Army Barracks, Maiduguri.
The sect had launched the dawn invasion with gunfire and explosions in a desperate bid to free its members detained in the military facility.
Over 250 insurgents were said to be in detention in the barrack at the time of the invasion.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the invaders were repelled.
The invaders failed to set free any of the detainees they had set out to rescue.
The insurgents were said to have stormed into Maiduguri by land and water, using the Ngadda River channel behind the University of Maiduguri to stage the multi-pronged attack.
It was shortly before 7am.
Once they were inside the city, they split into smaller groups and headed for the barracks, but the soldiers fought back with military jets hovering above.
The Defence Headquarters said four soldiers were wounded in the bloody encounter.
Children who were on their way to schools when the shooting erupted cried in fear and confusion.
Panicky workers and other residents also scampered into safety.
Multiple witness accounts said that the gunmen opened fire on civilians and torched several homes as they passed through the residential neighbourhood of Fauri.
Students at the University of Maiduguri reported hearing sustained gunfire throughout the morning.
A top security source said yesterday that the Boko Haram attack ended in a crushing defeat for the sect.
Said the source: ”You know we have been interrogating captured Boko Haram suspects in Giwa barracks in the last few weeks. But Boko Haram leadership got intelligence report on where their members were detained.
“So, at dawn on Friday, they invaded the barracks and attempted to break through the gate of the detention facility. In the attempt to repel the insurgents, vigilant troops engaged them in bloody encounters for more than five hours.
“In annoyance, the rampaging Boko Haram members threw explosives at the detention centre, which led to the death of many of their detained members.
“We have recorded more than 60 deaths, but we are still taking stock as at 3pm on Friday.”
The source said that once the attack failed, the terrorists took to their heels but were given a chase by troops on land and from the sky.
The source added that the population of Boko Haram fighters had been depleted significantly since “ we started the bombardment of their camps” hence yesterday’s attack to get their detained colleagues to rejoin them. Asked why the military kept the captured Boko Haram members in detention in Maiduguri, the source added: “We had planned to relocate the captured insurgents to Cross River but the state rejected the the move because it does not want security challenges.
“All the states in the southern part have also turned down plans to establish detention centres in their areas. They say they do not want Boko Haram harboured or interrogated on their soil.”
The Defence Headquarters through its spokesman, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said four soldiers were wounded during yesterday’s encounter.
He said: “Pockets of terrorists apparently in a move to boost their depleted stock of fighters this morning attacked a military location in Maiduguri with a view to freeing their colleagues who are being held in detention.
“The attack has been successfully repelled with heavy human casualty on the terrorists. Some of the victims of the terrorists’ fire in their efforts to break into the detention facility, included those they came to rescue.
“Many of the terrorists and their weapons have been captured. Four soldiers were wounded and are being treated.
“Hot pursuits by land and air operations are ongoing along with cordon and search of surrounding localities.
“No institution has been reported attacked, although the effect of firing from the encounter could be noticed in surrounding facilities in Maiduguri. Details will be given
“It is believed that this terrorists’ attempt is in response to the intensity of attacks on their strongholds in camps at Talala, Monguzum, Sambisa forests, Gwoza, Mandara mountains as well as the general area of Lake Chad. The camps have been destroyed and many insurgents killed.”
At the end of the battle, civilian JTF members were said to have carried out a search for fleeing members of the sect in Maiduguri, arresting scores of them and turning them over to soldiers.
Meanwhile the curfew in the city has been reviewed. It will now run from 2pm to 6am as against 9pm to 6am previously. (0)
Bloody for Boko Haram as 100 killed in foiled Jaybreak
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