Suspected Insurgents Arrested as Military Mops up Baga Town

National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd)

 Residents comb for missing relatives    Only 30 sect members, 6 civilians killed, says MTF

Michael Olugbode  and Senator Iroegbu

An unspecified number of Boko Haram members have been arrested and kept in custody as the Multinational Joint Task Force (MTF) Tuesday began a house-to-house search for the sect’s members 24 hours after a clash with the insurgents at Baga, a border community in northern Borno State.

Commander of the MTF, Brig-Gen. Austin Edokpaye, who did not disclose the number of the insurgents that have been put into custody, however said his men had “arrested a substantial number of the people who led the attack” on them.

This came as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and several residents of the community, where scores of persons were reportedly killed in last weekend’s deadly confrontation between Boko Haram and soldiers of the MTF, commenced the search for victims and their relatives whom they claimed have gone missing since the skirmish.

The search for the missing residents has been onerous, as a large part of the community has been cordoned off by the military, which has made movement within and outside the town difficult.

On its part, the MTF has clarified that contrary to media reports, only six civilians lost their lives, while some 30 insurgents were killed in the crossfire between its forces and members of Boko Haram at the weekend.

It was also gathered from the town that the search was ongoing yesterday for the insurgents as there was a house-to-house search for the fleeing members of the sect.
Edokpaye said his men had arrested a substantial number of the people who led the attack on the MTF.

He explained that the soldiers had previously exercised restraint despite intense provocation from the insurgents and that the weekend’s clash was provoked.

He said during one of such provocations in the past, a soldier was beheaded in the town by their attackers who took cover in the community after the act.

He added that in another incident, soldiers were ambushed by the insurgents during which a soldier was killed and the terrorists shielded by the members of the community.
Edokpaye said though the terrorists have always come to Baga to tax the people of the town, no formal complaint had been brought to his men, even as the residents of the town continued to shield the sect’s members.

The commander said the military had an intelligence report of the weekend’s attack on the soldiers, but when the people of the town were approached for assistance, it was not forthcoming.

He said: “The terrorists have been taxing the people for a long time and we have had information that they were prepared to attack us which we confronted the people with but they denied it.”

Edokpaye, who claimed that the conflagration that followed the clash was not the making of the military but was caused by the weapons deployed by the insurgents, said the military was at no time unprofessional in its task in the area.

Some of the residents of Baga, who sneaked into Maiduguri told journalists that they had found it difficult to get to their people in the troubled town as they had to run for their lives.

One of them, who simply identified himself as Modu, said all attempts to get to the people in the town had proved abortive as the telecoms network there was down.
He said the last he heard of them was that many people were still missing and that there was a house-to-house search for the sect’s members.

Meanwhile, the inaccessibility of the area may have affected the distribution of relief materials to its residents, it has been gathered.

However, NEMA Tuesday deployed a team of its officers and stakeholders to provide medical and relief assistance to the affected people in the troubled town.

A statement issued by a press officer with NEMA, Mr. Manzothe, said the agency had moved in emergency officials as well as relief materials to assist the inhabitants.

The statement quoted the Director General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani  Sidi, as saying President Goodluck Jonathan had directed the agency to urgently provide immediate succour to the people.

He said the NEMA team led by its Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, had been dispatched to Baga with the necessary medical assistance as well as food items to cater for  the displaced persons who are now taking refuge in various camps.

Giving a breakdown of the casualty list, Edokpayi said among the civilians killed, 30 were insurgents, while the other six civilians were cut in the crossfire.

He further disclosed that recovered arms and ammunition included three rocket propelled grenade launchers, two rocket propelled grenade bombs, four AK 47 rifles, 435 ammunition, several quantities of IED materials, and three damaged Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles belonging to the terrorists.

The commander said contrary to media reports that hundreds of houses were burnt, it was the explosion from the Boko Haram bombs that triggered the fire that razed “30 thatched houses in the predominantly fishing community.”

“MTF troops on routine patrol at Baga – Mallam Garati Road had an encounter with Boko Haram terrorists. During the encounter, one soldier was killed and five others were injured, while 30 Boko Haram terrorists lost their lives, five were arrested and many escaped with bullet wounds.

“Unfortunately, six civilians lost their lives and 10 others were injured in the crossfire,” he added.

President Jonathan has already directed a full-scale investigation into the reports of high civilian casualties in the crossfire between Boko Haram and the MTF.
The task force was originally established in 1998 as “Operation Flush Out” by four nations - Nigeria, Chad, Niger Republic and Cameroun – with the core objective of flushing out the Chadian rebels who were posing a formidable obstacle to peace and security along the Chadian basin.

The stand-by force started off with a 920-troop strength, but was later transformed into Multinational Task Force with the objective of ensuring peace and security in the Lake Chad Basin; to guarantee free movement of persons and goods along that route; to assist the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) in intercepting aliens in the region; checkmate the influx of illegal weapons into Nigeria through the borders and establish Forward Operating Bases (FOB) from where a Quick Response Force could be launched.

The proposed manpower contribution includes 700 troops each from Nigeria and Chad, while Niger and Cameroun have 500 troops respectively, some of whom were actively involved in the clash at the weekend.