Boko Haram has intensifies attack on troops, leading to the death of
a commanding officer and 7 others insurgents during an attack on 2 Army bases in Borno State.

The terrorists have intensified attacks on army camps in recent weeks as part of a more than decade-long insurgency that has killed more than 36,000 people

Newsfocusng gathered that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) arm of the dreaded Boko Haram group on Sunday morning attacked a base in Ajiri, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) away from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

A similar attack had been carried out earlier on Saturday night when the insurgents hit a base in Rann in the same state, the military sources said.

In Ajiri, troops fought a two-hour gun battle with the insurgents in gun trucks and on motorbikes who eventually breached the base and forced troops to withdraw.

According to a source, “The commanding officer of the base… paid the supreme price while six civilians who were caught up in the fight were also killed,” one of the military sources said.

Another source confirmed the toll and said militants escaped with weapons from the base.

Late on Saturday, fighters attacked a base in Rann, 172 km from Maiduguri but were beaten back by troops using artillery.

“They came in six gun trucks and met a stiff resistance from troops at the base. Two of the gun trucks were hit by troops artillery fire. The other four fled,” a military source said.

One civilian who was wounded later died in hospital.

President Muhammadu Buhari earlier this year replaced his four top military commanders in a bid to better combat the insurgency that has also displaced more than two million people from their homes since 2009.

ISWAP split from mainstream Boko Haram in 2016 and became a dominant group, launching attacks on military bases and ambushing troops while abducting travellers at fake checkpoints.

Since 2019, the army has mostly withdrawn from villages and smaller bases into so-called “super camps”, fortified garrisons meant to give better protection against attacks.

But critics say the strategy has left jihadists with more freedom to roam untouched in rural areas and made highways vulnerable to kidnappings and assaults.

The Police Command in Ebonyi State, on Sunday, intercepted 753 live ammunition of General-Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG).

The ammunition was said to be concealed in a sack being transported in a commercial vehicle from Abakaliki, the State capital, to Umuahia, capital of Abia State.

This is coming in the wake of recent DSS warning about arms movements and violent attacks on police formations in the South East and South South regions of the country.

Gunmen suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have been blamed for the attacks.

Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, explained that the deadly ammunition was intercepted following intelligence-driven covert operation.

According to him, the interception and recovery of the deadly ammunition, is part of efforts by the Force to identify and crack down on criminal networks and supply chains for weapons and ammunition in and around the country.

Mba stressed that comprehensive investigations aimed at bringing to book all persons linked to the crime are ongoing.

The Force spokesman also disclosed that following investigations into the foiled bank robbery on the Onueke branch of a commercial bank in Ebonyi State which occurred last week Tuesday, Policemen led by the Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi State Command, last Thursday stormed the hideout of suspects indicted in the investigations located at Oriuzo village in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

He explained that the suspects on sighting the Police squad, opened fire on them.

”The Police team engaged them gallantly and professionally. At the end, three members of the gang including two male and one female met their waterloo following bullet injuries sustained during the exchange of gunfire. Other suspects fled in different directions.

”Two Ak47 riffles, five pump action guns, six pistols, fifty Ak47 ammunition, one hundred and twenty-six cartridges, Jack knives, cutlasses, and a 40-page notebook containing inventories of ammunition purchased by the gang were recovered. A Honda Pilot Jeep with Reg No. ABJ 163 NV used for the foiled bank robbery was also recovered by the Police Team,” he said.

Security forces have uncovered a plot by insurgents to infiltrate the the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), using tinted vehicles and covered plate numbers.

It was gathered that the joint security task force, comprising the military, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and intelligence agencies, however, has intensified patrols and surveillance in and around Abuja.

Newsfocusng investigation also revealed that the meetings of the joint security task force under the office of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, continued at the weekend.

However, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has debunked reports that the nation’s capital was under terror attack.

A statement by the command said while security forces sustained pre-emptive measures against any eventuality, the reported attack on FCT was a clash of cultists in Mpape, an outskirt of Abuja and not an attack by terrorists.

We gathered that security agents uncovered an unusual number of unauthorised tinted vehicles with covered plate numbers within the city centre.

There are certain categories of political officeholders and security chiefs allowed to use tinted vehicles and covered plate numbers.

Permits are also granted to some citizens after an application is granted.

A security source revealed that “such applications are no longer granted in view of the security situation.”

With the rising number of vehicles with tinted glasses, concerns were raised that the insurgents were conducting a test run preparatory to an attack.

A security source revealed that the strategy was a familiar one applied during the bombing of the United Nations office and the Force Headquarters in Abuja by Boko Haram some years ago.

“It is a familiar pattern. We are working on it”, he said.

The FCT Police Command had last week launched an operation against the use of unauthorised covered number plates and tinted vehicles.

It said the operation had become “extremely necessary due to the recent security threat analysis conducted by the joint (security) team reveals that criminal syndicates now execute their nefarious activities using tinted vehicles with covered number plates.”

The command warned those using unauthorised covered number plates and tinted vehicles within the FCT to desist as violators would be arrested and prosecuted.

Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command at the weekend debunked reports that the seat of power was under attack.

It said a cult clash in Mpape, an outskirt of Abuja, was misconstrued as an attack by terrorists.

It said in the statement by its spokesperson, Mariam Yusuf, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, that there was no such attack on FCT.

It said heads of security agencies had reassured residents of their safety.

According the statement; “The attention of the FCT Joint Security Team has been drawn to a viral publication in social media purporting that the ‘Federal Capital Territory is under attack by Boko Haram Terrorists.

“The Joint Security Team of the FCT wishes to refute the mischievous publication targeted at creating palpable tension amongst the well-spirited residents of the FCT,” it added.

The command said “contrary to the speculation, the Heads of Security Agencies (HOSA) in the Federal Capital Territory in the bid to address security concerns within the FCT, held a strategic meeting on Thursday, April 29, 2021, where the team resolved to deploy alternative proactive crime-fighting measures within the FCT particularly in areas with challenging terrain, including aggressive motorised/foot patrols.

“However, the patrols will be conducted in line with the peculiarities of every terrain within the territory. In other words, the team has adopted the use of motorcycles, horses and other technical means of gathering intelligence to checkmate criminality within the Federal Capital Territory,” it stated.

Unknown gunmen in the early hours of Friday allegedly killed nine people in different villages across two Local Government Areas of Benue State.

Our correspondent gathered that of the number, five were killed in TyoughAtee/Njaha Council ward.

Shagbaor, Tse Tûgh village, Mbatyough, Saghev all in Gwer West LGA while the remaining four were allegedly killed at Imandeakpu village along Gbajimba-University road in Guma LGA.

It was learnt that several people sustained gun wounds in the communities during the attacks.

Villagers said the gunmen besieged their communities in the dead of the night, fired gunshots sporadically and hacked some people to death with cutlasses.

They also told our correspondent by telephone that there was security intervention in the Gwer West area which forced the gunmen to flee the scene.

The villagers however claimed that security personnel rescued some of the wounded persons, including a pregnant woman, and took them to a hospital in Naka, the headquarters of Gwer West LGA.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Catherine Anene, did not respond to the call placed to her telephone.

Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, has alleged that Ejike Mbaka, Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry (AMEN), asked President Muhammadu Buhari for contracts but was rebuffed.

Reacting to the priest call for Buhari to resign or be impeached, Shehu said Mbaka once brought three contractors to the president but Buhari insisted that due process must be followed.

According to him; “Father Mbaka is everything apart form what he claims to be… an outsider distilling the avalanche of verbiage will be surprised that after supporting the President two times to win the Presidency, Father Mbaka has made a complete U-Turn, preposterously asking President Buhari to resign or be impeached,

“Here is the point of departure: Father Mbaka asked for a meeting and to the shock of Presidential Aides, he came accompanied by three contractors. The President graciously allowed them in, and to everyone’s surprise, Father Mbaka asked for contracts as compensation for his support.

“Anyone familiar with President Buhari knows that he doesn’t break the laid down rules in dealing with contracts or any other government business for that matter. He requested the appropriate authorities to deal with the matter in accordance with laid down rules.

“Inside the Villa, discretion prevailed, that if those pictures and requests were made public, the followers will turn against the religious leader. None of it was released. Now, this is what is eating Father Mbaka”, he explained

It would be recalled that Father Mbaka had on Thursday advised President Buhari to resign, saying God is angry with him.

Mbaka, who was one of the staunch supporters of President Buhari in the build-up to the 2015 elections, had asked Buhari to resign or be impeached based on widespread insecurity.

“What is the matter? Nigerians are crying, why? Because there is no security in this country. House of Reps and the Senate should impeach the President if he doesn’t want to resign,” he had said.