The relative peace in Maiduguri came under serious threat Wednesday as members of the dreaded but now weakened Boko Haram sect announced their resurgence into town with staccato gunshots in their attempt to overrun the city. This came days after the Nigerian Army had shown sufficient proof that they were really on top of the situation and had repelled the sect out of the nation’s precincts.
Following the incident, the Nigerian Army has been placed on red alert to stave off further inward momentum of the sect.
An exchange of gun fire between the insurgents and the military sent shivers down the spines of residents of the state capital as the terrorists made a bold move to gain entrance into the town through Bale in Jere local government area.
Military sources confirmed that the Boko Haram gunmen were repelled by the military who engaged them in a shoot-out for about an hour.
The insurgents who were sighted in their hundreds “were engaged by soldiers and when they met a superior fire power they had to make a retreat,” a source told our reporter.
According to him, “It is however difficult to tell you the number of casualties now, it is still dark and the will only be possible in the morning, all I can tell you is that the military is on red alert.
“The entire Maiduguri is on watch and the insurgents if they try anything funny, they are in for a tough duel.”
His account was corroborated by a member of the youth vigilante group, Modu Baba, who said the terrorists attempted to make their way into Maiduguri via Bale in Jere local government area in the evening on Wednesday but were quickly repelled by vigilant soldiers.
In recent weeks, the Nigerian troops working in an tandem with troops of other nationalities had routed the insurgents pushing them out of their original territories. The success recorded by the military was attributed to recent upgrade of military hardware by the Nigerian government.
