Boko Haram: Nigeria Army Drives Insurgents Out From Bama

The Boko Haram militants fled Bama town on Tuesday following  a fierce fight  between them and  the Nigerian military. The sect had on Monday launched a daring attack on the town as part of moves to expand its caliphate from Gwoza, which it captured last week. Investigations revealed that the military authorities
called in the fighter jets of the Nigeria Air Force after hours of fierce fighting between troops and the insurgents to carry out sustained air strikes on them.A security source said on Tuesday that the military leadership in the North-East had made preparation for the strafing of the strategic town by telling all the civilians and even military personnel to relocate from the vicinity of areas under the control of the insurgents.

It was learnt that several security personnel and civilians who obeyed the call of the military were being quartered at Sector 8 and Sector 9 in Maiduguri. It was further gathered that the intensity of the air attacks on the insurgents aided the soldiers in pushing them out of Bama.

As the time of filing this report, the insurgents were said to be massing on the outskirt of Bama in another bid to carry out another assault on the town. The security source said that the Monday’s attack by the insurgents was coordinated from Gwoza, which the insurgents captured last week.

Meanwhile a highly placed military source Monday debunked the claim the Nigeria Air Force had received 12 fighter jets recently. The source said that while it was true that the Air Force had received some fighter jets, the number was not up to 12.

The source said, “While it is true that the Air Force has taken stock of some fighter jets, I can confidently tell you that it is not in that number you are talking about.”

Several attempts to speak with the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, was without success as the calls to his mobile telephone line did not connect.

SOURCE: PUNCH