Boko Haram: Suicide bomber kills another 27, injures 62 in Maiduguri

Twenty-seven persons were killed and 62 others injured during bomb attacks on Monguno, a town about 135 kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.

Bomb Scene

A member of the youth vigilante group, Idris Baba, told our correspondent on Tuesday that the Monguno attack happened at about the same time 54 persons were killed through bombs planted by members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect in Maiduguri on Sunday.

He said a bomb explosion from a suicide bomber hit the Onion section of a local market at Monguno on Sunday evening, which resulted in the death of not less than 27 persons, mostly traders.

A medical officer at the state Specialists Hospital, Maiduguri, who spoke anonymously, said, “Five vehicles conveyed 62 injured persons from the Monguno attack to the Specialists Hospital in Maiduguri (on Monday afternoon) but we quickly asked them to go to the University Teaching Hospital, because our facilities are over-stretched.”

A resident of Monguno, Baana Abubakar, who accompanied some of the injured persons to Maiduguri, confirmed to our correspondent that 27 persons were killed.

“I was at the Onion market after the bomb explosion to help in the rescue of people. I counted 27 dead bodies from the scene,” he said.

“We lost 27 people in the bomb blast. Our people have started burying the dead ones. One of the injured ones we brought to Maiduguri today also died,” he said.

Confirming the attack, the Borno State Police Commissioner, Aderemi Opadokun, in a text message, said, “Yes, at about 1330 hrs of 21/9/15, caretaker Chairman of Monguno Local Government reported an IED Explosion at Monguno Onion Market at about 2130 hrs of 20/9/15.

“Some people died on the spot while others sustained various degrees of injuries. Injured victims were transferred to UMTH, Maiduguri, while the dead were buried by their relations. The scene has been visited. Investigation is presently in progress.”

Monguno is the birth place of the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno.

Meanwhile, the pan-Northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, on Tuesday urged the Nigerian military never to be deterred by the renewed bombing by the Boko Haram insurgents in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The Boko Haram terrorists had on Sunday carried out multiple suicide bombings which claimed 50 lives at Damari and Bulunkutu areas of Borno State.

However, the ACF said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, in Kaduna that the military was already winning the war on insurgents and should not relent.

According to the forum, with the renewed effort of the military and the civilian JTF, Maiduguri had experienced relative peace, “but for this wicked act of barbarism on September 20,2015.”

The ACF, while condemning the continued use of suicide bombers by Boko Haram to kill innocent people, also hailed the Nigerian military for the onslaught on the terrorists’ enclaves.

It noted that all the Nigerian military needed to route out the insurgents was to intensify its intelligence synergy with the community.

The northern body said,”Arewa Consultative Forum was shocked and disturbed by the sad news of the multiple bomb blasts again which occurred on Sunday September 20, 2015, at Gomari and Bulunkutu areas of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, killing about 50 people with many injured.

“The ACF condemns in strong terms the continued use of suicide bombers by Boko Haram terrorists to kill innocent people in the name of a religious war, as no religion condones such cruel and barbaric act.

“The ACF wishes to commend the military and other security agencies for the continued onslaught on the terrorists’ enclaves and hideouts, thereby dislodging them from their strong holds.

“The ACF urges the military not to be deterred by the cowardly act of the Boko Haram terrorists, as their renewed effort and determination will soon end the insurgency.

“The ACF also appeals to the military to intensify its synergy of sharing intelligence with the community.”

The ACF also condoled with families of those who lost their loved ones, the government and people of Borno State over the tragic incident.

Boko Haram: Suicide bomber kills another 27, injures 62 in Maiduguri

Gbajabiamila, Monguno not imposed on us - Philip Shaibu

Ahead of the election of ‎the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, the member-elect representing Etsako Federal Constituency of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has said the leadership of the All Progressives Congress did not impose the choice of House leadership on the lawmakers.

Femi Gbajabiamila

The immediate past Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, had polled 154 out of the 183 votes cast by members who registered for last Saturday’s mock election organised by the party.

The camp of the Chairman, Committee on House Services and a contender for the top position, Yakubu Dogara, had walk out of the exercise, rejecting the outcome of party primary.

But Shaibu‎ told journalists in Benin on Monday that the action of the aggrieved lawmakers would not affect the emergence of Gbajabiamila as Speaker, which he said was “an internal arrangement.”

The lawmaker-elect said, “It is not affecting anything; it’s an internal arrangement. As I speak to you, both those that walked out and those that are in, we are working together to produce a Speaker of our own. We freely have chosen Honourable Femi Gbajiamila and Honourable Muhammed Monguno as our Deputy Speaker.

“There is no going back about it. These people were not imposed on us. They were chosen‎ by us; they were not influenced by anybody externally. We decided and we cast ballot to choose them and the wish of the majority, which is overwhelming, has to have its way.”

Shaibu, who was the immediate past Majority Leader in the Edo State House of Assembly, argued that decision of the party to nominate the former Minority Leader as its sole candidate was a clear “reward” for his performance as a leader in the House and urged other lawmakers to support the move of the party to reposition the House.

Gbajabiamila, Monguno not imposed on us - Philip Shaibu

Monguno: ‘Boko Haram used 5,000 cows as shield’

Fleeing soldiers in Maiduguri on Wednesday disclosed that the Boko Haram insurgents used over 5,000 cows as shield when the group clashed with federal troops in Monguno on Sunday.

A fleeing soldier, who does not want his name mention, said the cows were seized from Fulani herdsmen in villages around the northern parts of Borno State by the insurgents.

“Every day, we heard stories that Boko Haram insurgents were seizing cows from Fulani people. Nobody ever thought that their plan was to use the cows as shield to evade soldiers until that day when the release over 5,000 cows as shield.

“They hide themselves behind the cows and were advancing towards us. All our gun shots were hitting the cows,” the soldier said.

Hundreds of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are still stranded in Maiduguri along Baga road.

NEMA officials said on Tuesday they have registered about 5,000 IDPs from Monguno town after last Sunday attack on the town by Boko Haram.

Monguno: ‘Boko Haram used 5,000 cows as shield’