From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri, James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta & Joy Baba with agency report.
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Insurgents relocate from Sambisa forest
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Jonathan, Obasanjo in crucial meeting
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We’ll recapture ‘caliphate’, says Army
Cameroon soldiers have killed 27 members of Nigerian militant group Boko Haram during an attack in a locality near Fotokol in the far-north, the country’s state radio said on Wednesday.
The Boko Haram fighters crossed the border into Cameroon earlier this week, after attacking a military base and police station in Nigeria and apparently sending some 480 Nigerian troops retreating across the frontier.
“Cameroon soldiers have killed 27 Boko Haram elements during an attack in a locality near Fotokol in the far-north,” state radio CRTV said, adding that the deaths occurred on Monday and Tuesday. There was no word on any Cameroonian casualties
A Cameroonian soldier in the region said the militants had been pushed back into Nigeria, with calm returning to the area on Wednesday.
The Boko Haram had a few days ago declared a caliphate state in Gwoza, in Borno, and stepped up attacks in Cameroon, leading the central African country to increase deployments along its jungle border.
President Paul Biya dismissed two senior army officers last month following attacks in which at least seven people were killed and the wife of the vice prime minister was kidnapped.
Facts emerged yesterday that the Boko Haram militants have relocated from Sambisa to captured territories.
Residents of communities close to Sambisa forest in Borno State yesterday claimed that they saw a large number of Boko Haram militants leaving the forest.
They said the militants were heading towards southern Borno.
A highly placed security source, who spoke to an online newspaper, Sahara Reporters, confirmed the account of the villagers. He said Nigeria’s intelligence agents were aware that members of the deadly sect, who had been holed up in a thick forest the size of Western Virginia in the United States, seemed to be relocating to the large swath of territory they have captured in recent daring attacks.
Eyewitnesses said the insurgents had been moving their families and abductees to safer grounds in towns captured in recent weeks.
A villager in Kirawa, a town on the Cameroonian side, also said he had seen some suspected Boko Haram militants moving through Cameroonian territory to Nigeria with large amounts of cargo in tightly secured convoys.
However, Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters has declared that they will re-capture Boko Haram’s caliphate which they proclaimed a few days ago.
The Director, Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade on Wednesday said the Nigerian Army will soon re-assert Nigeria’s sovereignty in portions that have been violated illegally by Boko Haram.
“We are definitely working to reverse all those tendencies. We are not conceding any portion of this country to a group of terrorists and the required operation to reverse that is ongoing”, he said, assuring that the Army “will re assert in a short while the sovereignty of any part of the country that has been violated illegally by some irresponsible elements.
“We are working to ensure that not just Gwoza as a town, its surroundings and other portions that terrorists seem to be moving around is secured”. He further assured Nigerians “that we are sure we will accomplish in a short while”, he said, while speaking via a telephone interview on Channels Television.
Olukolade said the loan sought by the presidency became imperative as the funds are being used to upgrade their equipment to meet the challenges of the moment.
He said the military are already receiving upgraded weapons, but stressed the need for the soldiers to “upgrade their response”. Adding that the help received from allies “is improving” at the moment,
He also debunked reports that Nigerian soldiers fled to Cameroon after a gun duel with suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Gamboru-Ngala, Borno State.
The Defence Headquarters had yesterday confirmed the return of the troops from Cameroon, adding that they were addressed by the General Officer Commanding, 3 Division, Major General John Zaruwa, as they embark on another mission in the Counter Terrorism campaign.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting between the Nigerian troops and Boko Haram terrorist groups trying to enter the country through Gamborou Ngala was deadlocked yesterday with each still maintaining their positions.
According to a military source, the town which is largely a rural setting and scarcely populated is very strategic because it provided a direct crossing and link between Nigeria and Cameroun.
“This is why for some days now the troops have been battling to repel the advance of terrorists who want to seize the strategic location so as to have unrestricted movement from Nigeria into their safe haven in Cameroun”, the source said.
Following the insecurity problem, President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday met in Aso Rock Villa where they discussed the nation’s security challenge.
It was gathered that the visit was on the invitation of President Jonathan.
Obasanjo while briefing journalists in Abeokuta on his return from Abuja said the meeting with the president was purely on security matters.
He said, “Yes, I can confirm that I met with Mr. President on his invitation. In fact, he had wanted to come down to Abeokuta, but as a sign of respect to the Office of the President, I had to go. We had discussion on the country’s security issues and that is all.”
The former president said he would continue to make himself available on national issues in the interest of peace and progress of the country.
On the recurrent Eggon/Fulani crisis in Nasarawa State, Obasanjo called on Benue and Nasarawa state governments to ensure that peace was restored to the warring communities.
