Boko Haram insurgents may have
regrouped and begun the battle to regain
towns they lost to the military recently.
A member of a youth vigilante group,
Abba Modu stated that two towns in
Borno, Marte and Mafa were attacked by
the insurgents between Thursday and
Friday.
He said over 2,000 Boko Haram members
who were armed with sophisticated
weapons on Thursday laid siege on
Marte.
Marte, is a border town between Nigeria
and Cameroon in northern part of Borno
State. It is located in the western coast of
the Lake Chad, and this will be the third
time the insurgents will take over Marte,
first in 2012 but were chased out by
Nigerian troops shortly after the
declaration of State of Emergency in 2013.
They also launched a major attack on the
town in 2014 when they captured it but
they were pushed back before the last
elections.
Modu said some of the local vigilante
group in Kirenowa, the major town in
Marte, reported to them in Maiduguri that
the insurgents invaded the town from
various locations and succeeded in
dislodging Nigerian troops stationed in
the area.
He said scores of people were killed in
the attack and some structures
destroyed.
He said, “We were told the insurgents
wreaked havoc in Kirenowa and environs
this time around, it was unfortunate that
this came when the residents that fled
the area were beginning to go back.
“The fighting continued till early Friday
when the soldiers retreated. The town
has fallen and insurgents are fully in
charge, they are more than 2000 in
number.”
The fall of Marte, a military source, who
spoke anonymously, said was not true,
insisting that there was still on-going
battle between the troops and the
insurgents.
He said: “It is true the military and the
insurgents were drawn in battle at Marte,
but I can tell you that the operation is
ongoing, we would not allow any part of
this country to be held hostage by any
hoodlums.”
On the attack on Mafa, Modu said the
insurgents came in a large number at
about 6pm but met a stiff resistance from
the military.
He added that when the insurgents were
not making a headway, they retreated
back.
When our correspondent contacted the
Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen.
Chris Olukolade, on the reported invasion
of Marte by insurgents, he said he
intended to get more details on the true
situation in Marte.
The Defence Spokesman said the on-
going counter terrorism operation was
progressing in all fronts.
He said, “We will not be distracted and
our mission is progressing very well in
all the fronts.
“I would get more details on what is
exactly happening in Marte.”
