{"id":1699,"date":"2014-09-12T06:55:30","date_gmt":"2014-09-12T06:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=1699"},"modified":"2014-09-12T06:55:30","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T06:55:30","slug":"fg-deploys-more-troops-in-adamawa-as-bharam-seizes-two-borno-villages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=1699","title":{"rendered":"FG deploys more troops in Adamawa\u2026 as B\u2019Haram seizes two Borno villages"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Soldiers-with-an-Armoured-Personnel-Carrier-in-Ojota--360x270\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Residents of\u00a0\u00a0 two Bura villages in\u00a0\u00a0 Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State now live in fear after\u00a0\u00a0 Boko Haram insurgents struck\u00a0\u00a0 and ordered non-Muslims to convert to Islam within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

The insurgents were said to have invaded\u00a0\u00a0 Shaffa and Tesan Aledeh which are predominantly Christian communities on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n

Before they left unchallenged, they\u00a0\u00a0 vowed to return if their ultimatum was not met, and killed two retired army officers and an ex-policeman.<\/p>\n

The insurgents were said to have killed one of the\u00a0\u00a0 former\u00a0\u00a0 officers\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in Tesan Aledeh\u00a0\u00a0 before leaving for the nearby Shaffa\u00a0\u00a0 where they took the lives of the second retired\u00a0\u00a0 officer and the ex- policeman.<\/p>\n

A source, who disclosed this to one of our correspondents on Thursday, said the developments caused fears among Christian communities along the Biu-Hawul-Garkida-Mubi Road.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cThere is widespread fear of possible attacks by the insurgents\u00a0\u00a0 among Christians in communities along this important road. People are worried that at the end of the ultimatum, the Boko Haram may also attack them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Boko Haram members have started focussing attention on Christian communities in Southern Borno now; Yesterday (Wednesday), they attacked Tesan Alede and Shaffa in Hawul Local Government Area .<\/p>\n

\u201cThey killed a retired police officer in Tasan Aledeh and warned the people of the community\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 to convert to Islam within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people\u00a0\u00a0 are now panicking because they are really helpless. First, there is no concentration of soldiers there. The soldiers only come in the afternoon and after patrolling for the day, they go back.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother thing is that there is no civilian JTF in the area. The people did not form the Civilian JTF because they were warned not to do so to avoid attracting the attention of the insurgents. Now they are harassing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Boko Haram members are openly addressing people in Shaffa and other Hawul communities. And because of the killing of the three ex-service men,\u00a0\u00a0 many people are relocating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The PUNCH<\/em> learnt on Thursday that the insurgents had on Saturday burnt many houses and churches in Debiro,\u00a0\u00a0 Biu Local Government Area\u00a0\u00a0 in\u00a0\u00a0 Borno State.<\/p>\n

Among the churches allegedly burnt were the EYN and the ECWA worship centres The residence of the Pastor of the Deeper Life Bible Church was also said to have been affected.<\/p>\n

Many residents, including\u00a0\u00a0 a former Commander of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Maj. Gen. B.A Debiro, were said to have been displaced.<\/p>\n

A source\u00a0\u00a0 said\u00a0\u00a0 the insurgents stormed the community in two hilux vans and 20 motorcyles .<\/p>\n

They were said to have headed straight for the residence of the District Head, Lawan\u00a0\u00a0 Thlama, where they ordered that five young men should take them round to identify the residences of\u00a0\u00a0 Christians in the community.<\/p>\n

It was gathered that when information reached the Christians,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 they\u00a0\u00a0 fled into the bush for safety.<\/p>\n

However, another source said that five\u00a0\u00a0 insurgents were arrested at Tafawa in Balewa LGA of Bauchi State and in Jalingo, Taraba State.<\/p>\n

FG deploys additional troops in Adamawa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has deployed additional 500 troops in Adamawa State to give more bite to the\u00a0\u00a0 fight between the military and Boko Haram insurgents in the state.<\/p>\n

The Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday while updating journalists on the war against insurgency in the North-East.<\/p>\n

Omeri said, \u201cThe military has mobilised additional troops to protect Mubi and to restore order to Michika, Gulak, Baza and the surrounding villages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Nigeria military has continued to enforce its presence in the challenged communities in the North-East.<\/p>\n

\u201cContrary to\u00a0\u00a0 media reports of striking of some towns in Adamawa State such as Mubi; the military has confirmed the new redeployment of more than 500 troops to support the expectation around the area, including Gulak and Michika. We believe with this commitment and effort, the situation will be brought under control.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation report indicates that Mubi is calm while troops, including the police and other services are on patrol there.\u201d<\/p>\n

FG replies Borno elders<\/strong><\/p>\n

Omeri also dismissed the claim of Borno Elders\u2019 Forum that Maiduguri\u00a0\u00a0 had been surrounded by\u00a0\u00a0 Boko Haram insurgents.<\/p>\n

He said during a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday that\u00a0\u00a0 the statement issued by the\u00a0\u00a0 forum that\u00a0\u00a0 the insurgents had been expanding their operations without any threat was false.<\/p>\n

He added that the government had been doing much to halt the spread of insurgency as signified by the government of Borno State.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cThat (forum\u2019s statement) is far from the truth. The Borno State Government even recently commended the military for its effort in halting the spread of Boko Haram.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government has stated that it would not concede any part of this country to any group. That statement has not changed and the military is doing its best to protect citizens in every part of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know we have challenges with the Boko Haram insurgency but that is not to say that the government will abdicate its responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has urged the government to take necessary measures to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country.<\/p>\n

Its\u00a0\u00a0 President,\u00a0\u00a0 Bobboi Kaigama, said in a statement\u00a0\u00a0 on Thursday that the call had become imperative following reports that some cities in Borno and Adamawa states\u00a0\u00a0 had been attacked by Boko Haram.<\/p>\n

Kaigama said that the government must be decisive in checking the excesses of the sect.<\/p>\n

Bama still under B Haram\u2019s control <\/strong>\u2013Indigenes<\/p>\n

But in spite of Omeri\u2019s assurance, some residents of Bama\u00a0\u00a0 came out on Thursday to rubbish\u00a0\u00a0 military\u2019s claim that the town had been recaptured from the\u00a0\u00a0 insurgents who overran it last week.<\/p>\n

The residents, under the aegis of \u2018Bama Development Foundation, told a news conference in Maiduguri, said that on September 1, the\u00a0\u00a0 Army resisted the insurgents for several hours but were overpowered .<\/p>\n

The Chairman of the BDF, Mohammed Hassan, said during the incident\u00a0\u00a0 several lives were lost either through gunshots and\u00a0\u00a0 drowning in River Yadzaram while fleeing.<\/p>\n

He added that apart from those in Boko Haram captivity, many women, children and old people were still missing.<\/p>\n

Hassan added, \u201cAs a matter of fact, we are calling on the Borno State and\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Federal governments to expedite action on reclaiming Bama from the\u00a0\u00a0 terrorists as those in captivity are under serious trauma as a result of starvation.\u00a0\u00a0 Those that have lost their lives are yet to be buried.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 11 days of the incident, no search and rescue operation was conducted.\u00a0\u00a0 It is to our knowledge that security and welfare of the people are the fundamental obligations of a good government\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hassan\u00a0\u00a0 appealed to the Federal Government to deploy more troops in Bama so that the people would go back to their community.<\/p>\n

In Kaduna, the\u00a0\u00a0 Arewa Consultative Forum advised the Federal Government to ensure that the 10,000 retired soldiers it planned to recall\u00a0\u00a0 to fight the Boko Haram insurgents were properly screened.<\/p>\n

The forum, through its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim , said it was also its view\u00a0\u00a0 that federal character should be reflected in the selection process to ensure fair representation.<\/p>\n

It said, \u201cWe particularly advise that those who have never been in the military and therefore cannot be re-instated or recalled should be precluded from the exercise. Ex-militants, who have received formal training as part of the amnesty granted by the late President Umaru Musa Yar\u2019Adua\u2019s benevolence, should not be considered to benefit from the exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not qualified for either re-instatement or recall from the reserve list.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been brought to the knowledge of the ACF that the Federal Government has authorised the reinstatement of 10,000 retired soldiers back into the Nigeria Army. This in the wisdom of government is to boost the strength of the military to confront the insurgency that has engulfed the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cACF welcomes this development However, it wishes to caution the authorities responsible for the reinstatement to scrutinise the retired soldiers thoroughly and ensure that only persons qualified in accordance with military regulations are recalled. Furthermore, the issue of federal character must be reflected in the selection process to ensure fair representation of all sections of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cACF therefore urges the authorities to display transparency and honesty in the reinstatement exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Residents of\u00a0\u00a0 two Bura villages in\u00a0\u00a0 Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State now live in fear after\u00a0\u00a0 Boko Haram insurgents struck\u00a0\u00a0 and ordered non-Muslims to convert to Islam within 24 hours. The insurgents were said to have invaded\u00a0\u00a0 Shaffa and Tesan Aledeh which are predominantly Christian communities on Wednesday evening. Before they left unchallenged, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Soldiers-with-an-Armoured-Personnel-Carrier-in-Ojota-360x270.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-rp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1701,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699\/revisions\/1701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}