Despite security assurances from both the president and the Borno State governor, insurgents kill five farmers and a CJTF member and abduct 15 others in an attack in Gwoza.

Five farmers and a Civilian Joint Task Force member have been killed by gunmen in Borno State.

The armed men – thought to be members of either the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, or the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) – also abducted 15 farmers in the attack on the Ngoshe community in the Gwoza Local Government Area in Borno South.

The attack occurred on Tuesday, October 1, as Nigerians across the country were celebrating the 64^th independence anniversary.

In both their independence-day messages, President Bola Tinubu and Borno State governor Babagana Umara Zulum had assured citizens – particularly farmers – of “adequate security”.

Sources in Gwoza told RNI that the attackers ambushed the farmers on their fields. They managed to overpower security operatives “despite their best efforts”.

Jubril Zarana, a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), was among those killed while trying to foil the attack.

Hauwa Jarmai, a resident of Ngoshe, said the attackers took the ambushed farmers to their hideout in the nearby forest where they killed five of them.

Three women hostages were later released by their captors.

MILITARY CONTRACTORS

Ali Ndume, the senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, has appealed to Tinubu to hire “military contractors” to support counterinsurgency operations in the country.

The former chairman of the Senate committee on defence said: “All across the world, governments hire the services of military contractors. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should consider this as a short-term measure. The contractors would work with the military and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force who understand the terrain.”

Ndume said that with the support of military contractors, security operatives could quickly overcome insurgents and bandits.

“These contractors would come with their equipment and military hardware. In a very short time, they would eliminate those Boko Haram terrorists and the bandits operating in north.”

MULTINATIONAL JOINT TASK FORCE

The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) has rescued 38 hostages and dismantled a critical “terrorist logistics network” in the Lake Chad Basin region.

In a statement released on Tuesday, October 1, Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba, the chief military information officer at the MNJTF’s headquarters in N’Djamena, Chad, said troops had intercepted JAS members, who were transporting a large number of hostages, during a clearance operation in the Kukawa Local Government Area and Baga Axis.

He said the insurgents had fled during the encounter, leaving behind the hostages – eight men, eight women and 24 children – who were “promptly rescued”.

Osoba said preliminary investigations suggested that the hostages were being transported from a “Boko Haram enclave” in Dogon Chikwu.

He said MNJTF forces had also intercepted a Boko Haram logistics syndicate operating in the Gubio Local Government Area.

“The syndicate was using three vehicles to transport various supplies to terrorist enclaves,” Osoba said.

The apprehended suspects, whom he identified as Mustapha Muhamadu, Abdullahi Muhammed and Usman Bintumi, were found in possession of a significant quantity of food items, clothing, medical supplies and other essential goods.

In a statement issued on Sunday, September 29, Osoba said the MNJTF – operating under Sector 3 in Borno State – intercepted “a group of Boko Haram terrorists en route to launch a deadly attack along the Magumeri-Maiduguri axis”.

“Acting on credible intelligence the troops executed a tactical ambush, neutralising the threat before the terrorists could wreak havoc on innocent civilians.

“The troops, having positioned themselves tactically along the terrorists’ path of movement, engaged with them as they emerged from a forested area on motorcycles.

“On sighting the troops, the terrorists attempted to flee but were met with a heavy barrage of gunfire. This decisive engagement forced them to abandon their weapons and motorcycles, disrupting their plan to unleash violence in the region.”

NIGERIAN ARMY

Nigerian troops of the 6 Brigade Command have uncovered a plot by JAS fighters to establish camps in Taraba State.

In a statement issued in Jalingo, the state capital, Olubodunde Oni, the acting assistant director of army public relations, said eight suspected JAS members were arrested in the Ardo-Kola Local Government Area following a “series of intelligence-driven operations by troops of 6 Brigade Nigerian Army / Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke”.

“Troops acting swiftly on reliable intelligence, conducted a raid on the residence of one of the terrorist leaders, Tukura Abdul-Kareem, in the Sunkani Ward of the Ardo-Kola Local Government Area. The operation resulted in the arrest of Abdul-Kareem and seven additional suspects who had travelled from various states to join the terror cell.

“Investigations revealed that the eight Boko Haram terrorists were planning to establish a sleeper cell within Taraba State, with the intention of launching improvised explosive device [IED] attacks on innocent individuals and critical facilities within the state,” Oni said.

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO