President Goodluck Jonathan’s Aides Stranded As Boko Haram Attacks Maiduguri

                  9 soldiers and 56 insurgents are believed to have lost their lives in an attempt by Boko Haram to capture Maiduguri, Borno State on Sunday morning. The attempt by the sect to capture the town began at about 12.30am and could not be suppressed by a combined team of soldiers, Air Force personnel and vigilante groups until about 11am.

                 It was gathered that hundreds of heavily armed insurgents tried to enter the state capital through Jinikin-Moronti along the Jos-Kano Highway and close to the   1,000 and 707 housing estates in the city.

           But as gunshots boomed less than four kilometres to the city, another set of militants launched attacks on Mongunu,   Kodunga and Gubio , also in the troubled state.

They were said to have taken over Monguno and seized a military barracks during a fierce battle in which the Brigade Commander  and some of his men were injured.

An eyewitness said that the terrorists, who tried to invade Maiduguri were confronted by the soldiers from the 33 Battalion Barracks and other security operatives   at the city’s entrance.

The exchange of gunfire  between them started at about 12.30 am till 3. 30am when the insurgents retreated.

Just when residents of the city began to heave a sigh of relief, the militants   came back at 5.40am with renewed vigour and engaged the soldiers in another round of fierce fighting.

The military had to deploy Airforce jets to carry out aerial bombardments to suppress the   insurgents at about 11am on Sunday.

Some members of President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign delegation to the city were said to have been trapped. Jonathan left Maiduguri on Saturday immediately after     his reelection campaign in Borno State.

A vigilante, who did not want his name in print, said about nine soldiers and 56 insurgents were killed at the end of the battle.

He added that the terrorists also lost three Armoured Personnel Carriers and two Toyota Hilux vans during the battle.

Another member of a vigilance group claimed that the bodies of the felled soldiers were conveyed in a military   van   to the Garrison Command along Pompomari at about 12.30 pm.

Some Airforce jets were seen hovering over the town even after the battle which made fear-stricken residents to stay away from churches ended.

 

Modu Baana, another vigilante, said 

“It was around 2am that we heard that over 100 heavily armed men with APCs and Hilux vans were about coming into the town  through Jimtilo. But we thank God that   fighter jets really helped to make them to run away."

The development made military authorities to slam a 24-hour curfew on the city to enable security operatives fish out some insurgents believed to  be in a hiding.