Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri and Billy Graham Abel, Yola
The military said it has repelled Boko Haram attack on Kanama, Yobe border town on Monday evening.
“Troops of 159 Battalion, Forward Operational Base (FOB), Sector 2, Operation LAFIYA DOLE, deployed at Kanama, Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe state, have today’s evening thwarted Boko Haram terrorists attempted incursion into the border town of Kanama,” acting Assistant Director Army Public Relations, headquarters Sector 2 Operation Lafiya Dole, Lt. Njoka Irabor said in a statement.
Irabor said the insurgents came to Kanama at about 5:30pm and started shooting sporadically. He said troops engaged the insurgents in gun dwell, a situation which forced some of them to retreat with gunshot wounds.
“The resilient troops have embarked on hot pursuit of the fleeing surviving attackers towards the border with Niger Republic,” he said, promising to give further details of the casualties.
Also in neighbouring Adamawa State, military troops reportedly fought hard to push back Boko Haram from remote Shuwa villages at the edge of Sambisa Forest in Madagali local government.
Adamawa State Commissioner for Information, Ahmad Sajoh, confirmed a gun battle between troops and Boko Haram but maintained that the “military has upper hand.”
“We got intelligence that Boko Haram men were sighted at Shuwa around Madagali and we alerted the military. Troops were mobilised there and already engaging the insurgents in collaboration with hunters,” Sajoh said on Monday night.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, Adamawa State police command said the police have not officially been briefed of the situation.
But the Chairman, Madagali local government, Yusuf Muhammed, said that Shuwa town had indeed been attacked by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.
Yusuf said: “I learnt that they came to Shuwa through Kirchirga village, shooting and causing panic.
“But I can reliably confirm to you that they have been repelled by the military. The report that some towns have been captured by the insurgents is a huge lie. I have contacted village heads and other sources and they have confirmed to me that nothing like that had happened.
“Shuwa has been returning to normalcy; there is no curfew in the town and this attack is actually surprising.”
On whether the attacks was politically motivated, he said: “It could be possible; after two years and no incident, now why is this attack? Our people have been excited and everyone is returning home to vote.
“May be they are trying to cause panic but our people will not bow to this fear.
“We must commend the military for a job well done; they have done so well because if it was not for them, most of our people would not have returned home.
“I would like to call on the president, Muhammadu Buhari, and the military to increase troops’ presence in the area.”
However, following the attack on Shuwa a neighbouring community to Mickika, panic had griped Madagali communities in Adamawa State as a result of the sound of sporadic gunshots at around 7 pm on Monday night, forcing many residents to flee for their lives.