MAIDUGURI — Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state has urged the military to put necessary measures to avert Boko Haram or ISWAP targeting any part of the state.
Zulum was speaking when he visited Gomari community and 1,000 Housing estates in Maiduguri rocked by explosions, but no death recorded.
The rocket launchers were believed to have been fired by the insurgents on Saturday morning.
The Governor said that the incident was avoidable, noting that there was something wrong that needed to be checked otherwise the insurgents would not have come closer to the city to fire launchers or mortal bombs.
“It is very sad and unfortunate that this kind of attack and others are happening at this time. It seems the insurgents came very close to Maiduguri. Our military have to wake up and ensure adequate surveillance.
“We have to fortify Maiduguri as we will continue to do around other cities and towns across the state. We have to ensure adequate patrols on daily basis to avert future attacks,” he said.
Zulum promised to set up a committee to investigate the incident and access damage done to houses.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army, in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu has urged the public not to panic over the incident.
The army described the attack as a “security breach by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists who made futile attempt to maintain potency early this morning, December 4, 2021, with explosions in the outskirt of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council.”
The statement read in part: “This unfortunate incident has caused some level of damage and apprehension in residential areas. Although no life was lost, sadly a minor sustained injury.
“Ground troops in conjunction with the Air Component of OPHK responded swiftly and dominated the area with ground and air interdictions that successfully neutralized the threats and infiltration attempt by the terrorists.
“The general public is urged not to panic as troops are on the ground and aggressively dominating the city to effectively take out any perceived threat.
“The good people of Maiduguri are equally enjoined to go about their normal socio-economic activities and provide actionable information on the movement of these criminal elements.”
Saturday’s attack comes a day after seven soldiers were reportedly killed by ISWAP jihadists near a base at Rann, close to the Cameroonian border.
Also, the Borno Police Command said a six-month-old baby was injured when ISWAP terrorists fired five mortar bombs into Maiduguri.
The Commissioner of Police, Abdul Umar, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri that the six-month-old victim was treated for minor injuries at the Umaru Shehu Ultra-Modern Hospital and discharged.
Umar added that the terrorists fired the bombs from the outskirt of Ngomari Old Airport, behind Borno State University and the mortars landed in different locations within the city causing minor damages.
The CP said the first bomb landed inside a house belonging to one Ibrahim Abba-Fori, burning down a Honda Civic car while another destroyed a room in Alhaji Bukar Modu-Kullima house and injured the six-month-old baby, Fatima Alhaji-Bukar.
“Another one landed at Gambari Njimtilo Ward near the house of Ahmed Yahaya, where the fence of the house was destroyed.
“The last explosive landed in a farm at Shuwarin Atom Village,” he said.
CP said no life was lost in the attack, adding that more police and military personnel had been deployed to the outskirt of Maiduguri for monitoring and patrols.
He urged residents to be on alert and report any suspected activities that would be detrimental to peace while assuring them of the total readiness of security agencies to protect lives and properties in the state
The insurgents were said to have misfired the rockets meant for the Nigerian Air Force Base but went into their community causing great havoc to some structures.
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