Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have given a notice
of attack to the 233 Battalion of the Nigerian Army
based at Kukareta Barracks in Damaturu, Yobe State,
National Mirror reports.
The sect was said to have expressed its resolve to attack
Damaturu on August 9. Also known as the Special
Operations Battalion of the 3 Division, Nigerian Army,
the formation is headed by a commanding officer who
was said to have received a letter by Boko Haram
stating its intentions.
National Mirror gathered that the letter was received
between Tuesday and Friday last week. In June,
soldiers of the battalion were said to have uncovered a
terrorist cell within the state capital, Damaturu. The
cell was yet to be raided for certain reasons. One, the
commanders were careful of picking a date for the raid
for fears that a “mole” within the Army could leak the
information to insurgents. Secondly, the infantry
soldiers were said to have advised that men of the Air
Force be sent to “shell” the cell before ground troops
would be sent in.
Already, security operatives are said to be on the high-
alert while as at weekend, the General Officer
Commanding GOC of the 3 Division, Maj.-Gen. J.S.
Zaruwa, was said to be in Yobe. The battalion is still
under the 3 Division in Jos despite the creation last year
of the 7 Division in Maiduguri, which is closer to
Damaturu.
“We just received a letter from BH that they are coming
for a visit at Damaturu on the 9th of this month”, said
a soldier who did not want his name mentioned. The
soldier, who was livid with rage, said 25 of his
colleagues were killed in Buni Yadi area of the state last
week. He also lamented that some of his mates were
currently deserting the Army since it became obvious
that the Federal Government and the military high
command had not demonstrated enough resolve to
tackle the menace.
He said since the beginning of this year, “those idiots
(terrorists) have attacked our camp more than six times
in both Goniri and Buni Yadi and they always kill
soldiers and policemen, yet the government and Army
see no reason to solve the problem”. He said except for
the Army’s respect for the rules of engagement, his
colleagues would have since wiped off both villages.
“The worst of it is that those guys went and bombed
the big bridge that leads to the village, Buni Yadi, so
that we in the town will not be able to go in, while our
soldiers there will not be able to come to the town
except they pass through Adamawa State, which is a
long distance”. The source, however, said the Army was
ready to stave off any attack.
Since 2012, terrorists have launched brazen attacks on
Yobe State. While some of the attacks targeted security
formations, others targeted unarmed civilians,
including teenage secondary school students. Buni Yadi,
Goniri, Potiskum have witnessed increased terror
attacks.
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