Bloody Monday: 30 die as Boko Haram bombs Borno market •JTF kills 8 sect members

Posted by admin Boko Haram, Top Stories Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

THERE was pandemonium at Baga Market in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Monday, when Islamic fundamentalists known as Boko Haram went berserk and shot 30 persons who were trading at the market.

The incident, which happened at about 1.30 p.m, saw many traders in the market, who managed to escape, weeping and mourning those killed.

An eyewitness told Nigerian Tribune that the development led to the closure of the market as many traders ran for dear life while some were seen discussing the matter in twos and threes when the perpetrators of the act had left.

Meanwhile, agency reports quoted military and medical sources as putting the death toll at over 30 while witnesses also told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that they heard three explosions in the market.

Speaking on the incident, Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Mohammed, spokesman for a special military unit in the city said: “At about 1.30 (1230GMT) this afternoon, at Baga market of Maiduguri metropolis, some gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram attacked and shot civilians at the market.”

A Maiduguri hospital nurse also confirmed that “it’s true the number of dead could not be less than 30.”

Sources who did not want their names in print told Nigerian Tribune that many were feared dead as a result of gun battle which followed the explosions between men of the Joint Task Force on Operation Restore Order in Borno and members of Boko Haram.

A source told the Nigerian Tribune that, “we saw about three pick-up vans loaded with people in front of Ibrahim Taiwo Police Station, opposite the Baga Market this afternoon, shortly after the gun battle with members of the sect, but we cannot tell whether they are corpses or wounded persons.”

Another source told the Nigerian Tribune that, “the sect members were believed to have attacked traders in the market, following last Thursday’s arrest of one of their members who entered the market to kill a trader but were overpowered and beaten and handed over to men of the JTF.

“A man suspected to be a member of Boko Haram was arrested on Thursday last week at the market during an attempt to gun down a trader. The man, who was sighted by some women, informed one of the traders that they saw the man trying to hide what looked like a gun in his gown.

“The traders were alerted and they kept an eye on the fellow while they continued selling until they realised that he was about to bring out his gun and fire at one of the traders. They pounced on him and gave him the beating of his life before handing him over to the security operatives,” he told the Nigerian Tribune in Maiduguri.

Confirming the incident to newsmen in Maiduguri, spokesman for the JTF, Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed said men of the JTF in Borno killed eight members of Boko Haram during a gun battle at about 1.00 p.m. at the Baga Market on Monday.

He said that the JTF was informed of an attack in the market where three traders were shot by members of the Boko Haram sect. “Our men who arrived at the market engaged members of the Boko Haram sect in a gun battle and we successfully killed eight of the sect members, recovered weapons as well as detonated some IEDs and recovered others.”

According to him, the three traders shot at the market did not die, as they were taken to hospital where they were receiving medical attention.

10 die on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
In another development, 10 people died on Monday morning, while some others were seriously injured in an auto crash on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway when a Toyota bus ran into a stationary articulated lorry.

Sympathisers wept uncontrollably at the scene of the accident involving an 18-seater bus belonging to the Kebbi State Transport Company with registration number AA 189 AUG, and the lorry with registration number XV 512 EKY.

According to an eyewitness at the scene of the accident, the bus was coming from Kebbi State and was heading to Lagos when the accident happened at a place called Straight Way, at Isara-Remo, on the expressway.

The eyewitness said the accident might have occurred due to the fact that the driver could have slept off behind the wheel, owing to the distance he had covered from Kebbi.

“There is the tendency that the driver slept off behind the wheel. Although the lorry was not well parked, if he was not sleeping at the wheel, he could have avoided a collision with the trailer. Nine passengers died immediately, while the tenth passenger died a few minutes later,” the eyewitness said.

Another eyewitness said the accident happened very early in the morning and this might have led to the inability of the victims to get help in time or for any rescue efforts to take place.

“I think the accident took place around 5.00 a.m, those who could provide rescue efforts for them were not on the ground to assist the victims until around 7.00 a.m, when officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) arrived at the scene,” the eyewitness said.

An official of the FRSC at the scene of the accident, who did not want his name in print, confirmed that 10 passengers who, he said, were coming from Kebbi State, died in the accident.

He attributed the accident to the alleged carelessness on the part of the bus driver and the nonchalant attitude of the trailer driver who parked on the road.

Lagos NURTW clash claims 5
Five people were, on Monday morning, feared killed as the warring factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) renewed hostilities on Lagos Island.

Several people were also injured and no fewer than 25 vehicles vanda-lised with another 20 burnt in different attacks and reprisal.

The Monday crisis created pandemonium among residents and traders on the island, as the clash, which started around Onola (Isale-gangan), spread to other parts of the island, including Campus, Ita Faji, Agarawu, Idumota, Adeniji Adele and parts of Leventis area.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the renewed clash started around 2.30 a.m on Monday, when a gang of about 70 street urchins invaded Campus, Onola, Ita Faji and Agarawu.

The hoodlums, who were said to be clad in white attire, were said to have been identified as Isale Eko Boys and that they were loyalists of one of the two factions fighting for the chairmanship of the Lagos NURTW branch.

The hoodlums, who were reportedly armed with sophisticated weapons, unleashed terror on their supposed enemies at Onola in particular, where they shot sporadically.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the hoodlums were on the rampage when some members of the community suspected to be members of the vigilance group tried to mobilise against them.

This actions was said to have added “fuel to flame,” as the Isale Eko Boys reportedly went berserk, shooting and setting every available vehicle on fire, creating tension.

Some hours after the invasion, there was another clash around Adeniji Adele, Apongbon and Idumota, in what was said to be a reprisal attack from the Onola Boys.

A resident of Apongbon, who identified himself simply as Edward, informed the Nigerian Tribune that the reprisal went beyond the two factions.

The resident informed the Nigerian Tribune that the hoodlums took the advantage of the early morning rush by traders and workers at the island end of 3rd Mainland Bridge to attack and rob innocent people.

Anti-riot policemen and men of the Rapid Response Squad and an Armoured Personnel Carrier had immediately been drafted to major parts of the island, including Ita Faaji and Idumagbo.

Residents who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune blamed the police for the continued clash between members of the rival factions of the transport union.

Efforts to speak with the spokesman for the state police command, Joseph Jaiyeoba, failed, as calls to his mobile phone number were not answered.

-Tribunewp_posts