At least 16 vehicles and one house were set alight by insurgents, believed to be members of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), in a non-governmental organisation (NGO) compound in Monguno in the early hours of Thursday, November 10.
A resident of Monguno town, the headquarters of the local government area of the same name, who asked to remain anonymous, told RNI that the insurgents arrived about 2am.
“The Boko Haram [JAS] insurgents infiltrated the town on Thursday at about 2am. They successfully entered the town centre, near the residence of the former chairman of the Monguno Local Council, the late Alhaji Shugaba Umara. They were opposite the Central Primary School in the compound of a non-governmental organisation [NGO], Action Against Hunger, and burnt down at least 16 vehicles and a house.
“This was not the first attack. Just recently, the insurgents kidnapped three staff members of the Damuli Investment Company, which rents out cars to NGOs.”
The resident said he was surprised about how easily the insurgents managed to sneak into the town, which had many inhabitants and where there were lots of security operatives.
“We thank God that there were no casualties and that security operatives repelled the attack and chased away the insurgents. I would like the government to strengthen the security presence even more in Monguno town to ensure the safety and security of all the inhabitants, especially as the 2023 general elections draw nearer.”
Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency expert and security analyst in the Lake Chad region, was told by an intelligence source that at least 18, not 16, vehicles were burnt and destroyed in the attack on the NGO compound. The source also told Makama that the insurgents belonged to the the “Islamic State-backed faction” of the Islamic State West Africa Provence (ISWAP), not JAS.
At first, when the insurgents entered the town they were shooting haphazardly.
The source told Makama that the insurgents were targeting aid workers. When they failed to find any workers in the compound, they set alight 18 vehicles, mostly SUVs, and vandalised two other vehicles.
The source said the insurgents tried to steal three 4×4 vehicles but they were met with stiff resistance from troops of Sector 3 Operation Hadin Kai. There was a heavy gunbattle and the insurgents abandoned the vehicles during the intense exchange of fire. They retreated quickly from the scene.
Makama’s source also said there were no reported casualties.
Monguno is close to Lake Chad. ISWAP has targeted the town several times. Security operatives believed the insurgents have informants in the town.
SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO
