The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in Kano yesterday made a breakthrough in the fight against terror: It exposed a dangerous plan by the members of the Boko Haram to strike the ancient city during the Sallah festivities. The JTF raided a high-calibre bomb-making factory at the Gunduwawa area of Kano and recovered huge bombs.
The commandant, Kano 303 Mechanized Brigade, Brigadier General Abba Illiyasu, also disclosed that a person killed during the raid was an active insurgent.
The person was the son of the owner of the house the sect was using as a bomb-making factory. Illiyasu asked, “What was he doing at the odd hours of 2:30am on the day of the operation at the house where the insurgents were attacked?”
Similarly, the state director of the DSS, Bassey Ettang, told journalists during a briefing that the father of the person killed during the operation regretted giving out the house to the Boko Haram members. He said his sons did it without his knowledge.
Illiyasu said, “If the same father of the killed person can testify that his house was given out by his sons and without his knowledge, and one of the sons was to be found in the same house at the same hour of the operation, then, I don’t know who is complaining. In any case, anybody can be killed during this kind of operation, so long as he is found hiding in the same vicinity that is been raided.
Meanwhile, the JTF has exposed a new tactic employed by the Boko Haram members: they use a primed explosive suicide pack in their mischievous mission. As such, he urged residents to be cautious of anybody they see carrying a bag on his back.
The JTF also stated that during the raid it recovered assault rifles, two AK58 rifle magazines with 193 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, one AK-47 rifle magazine with 107 rounds of7.62mm special ammunition, bows and arrows.
Other items recovered included 3 primed cylinders of IEDs, 1 primed explosive suicide back pack, 18 empty IED cylinders, 24 detonators, small bags of fertilizer, IED timers, Cortex wires and 3 remote control devices.
Similarly, the JTF recovered 5 Motorola hand-held radios, 4 communicators, 6 alarm clocks, 2 cartons of 9-volt batteries, a scale, one external hard drive and one heavy duty charger/battery.
Illiyasu noted that all these dangerous materials were meant to wreak havoc on Kano during the Eid-el-Kabir festivities and other festivities before the end of the year, adding that they have also uncovered new plots by the insurgents to establish safe havens on the outskirts Kano. He asked people to watch for any suspicious movement.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the JTF had raided two houses while searching for Boko Haram members in Gunduwawa-Dambuwawa Quarters in Gezawa local government area of Kano State.
Hussaini, who owns a modern barber’s shop near the first house that the JTF destroyed after last night’s discovery, said the house was built less than a year ago and the occupants moved into the house less than two months ago.
He said he was aware that the house was occupied by a new bride and groom who were from Maiduguri.
Neighbours said the occupants of the house hardly talked to anyone and that about four to five men used to enter the house at night but nobody knew when they left.
Gunmen kill 8, injure 16 in Adamawa
Meanwhile, at least eight persons were feared killed in an early morning attack on Itiku village of Madagali local government area of Adamawa State, one month to the expiration of the emergency rule slammed by President Goodluck Jonathan on Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states.
Residents say that 16 others were reported to have received injuries when the attackers stormed the area in the wee hours of Wednesday, shooting victims at random.
Madagali local government area is home to prominent politicians including President Goodluck Jonathan’s special adviser on political matters Alhaji Ali Gulak, Adamawa State deputy governor Barrister Bala Ngilari, and speaker of Adamawa State House of Assembly Hon. Umaru Fintiri .
Reports from Madagali, which shares a border with Borno State, indicated that the gunmen numbering about 50 had earlier attacked some houses belonging to notable personalities in the area.
“We were terribly shocked; the entire town was completely enveloped by stampede, even as the casualty figure occasioned by the stampede was as high as those hit by stray bullets. They came in the early hours attacking houses of notable personalities, slaughtering people like animals. Many were killed and several others had a gunshot or sustained injuries while running for their lives. It was later, after the attackers have fled, that we saw soldiers ,’’ said a fleeing resident who simply identified himself as Mallam Ahmad.
Another resident, Mrs Bebi Dogara, said that the gunmen entered the village and went house-to-house “calling people and slaughtering them”.
A local health official who didsn’t want his name mentioned confirmed that eight persons were killed and 16 others injured. “On our arrival with other security operatives to ascertain the situation, we counted eight corpses and at least 16 other people were seriously injured,’’ said the health worker.
When contacted, the army spokesman in the state, Captain Jafaru Nuhu, said he was yet to get details of the attack but assured that the soldiers “are on top of the situation”.
“Soldiers are everywhere in Adamawa State -- on patrol and stop-and-search routines duty, while others were deployed to strategic locations. We have been recording success as our men were able to arrest many suspects with the help of the civilian JTF. We are therefore calling on the good people of Adamawa to please kindly assist us with useful information that could help in tracking down the insurgents,’’ said Captain Nuhu.
This is the second attack since the emergency rule was imposed on the state five months ago.
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September 25, 2012, 07:48:48 PM