JTF kills Boko Haram commander in Borno

IN a sustained follow-up operations on Wednesday afternoon, the combined troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation Restore Order, 333 Air Defence Regiment, the Department of State Security, supported by armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with helicopters conducted a major offensive operations, killing a high profile Boko Haram commander, Ibn Saleh Ibrahim.
Spokesman of the JTF, Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa, in a statement on Wednesday, said the offensive operation against the insurgent terrorist took place at Nganaram, Bulabulin and Bayan Quarters areas of Maiduguri, Borno State.
According to him, during the offensive and in a counter-attack, a major commander of the Boko Haram sect, commanding the North-West and the North-East of Maiduguri, Ibrahim, alongside some of his commanders and foot soldiers, were killed by the JTF troops.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir said the operation was still ongoing.
He alleged that Ibrahim was said to be responsible for the assassination of the Nigerian Civil War hero, General Mamman Shuwa, through the orders of the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau.
The JTF spokesman said several weapons, ammunitions and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were also recovered from the operation, promising that more details in respect of the ongoing operations would be given later.
Meanwhile, SEVEN people have been confirmed dead, among who is a seven-year- old boy and 15 houses burnt in a renewed communal clash on Wednesday between Koro and Eggon  communuties in Agyaragu, Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Ten other persons, who sustained various degrees of injuries, were taken to different hospitals within the state capital, Lafia.
Nigerian Tribune investigations further revealed that the latest clash was as a result of the alleged stealing of a motorcycle by yet to be identified three boys, who escaped to Gwadanye village which is inhabited by the Koro, who are long standing enemies of the people of Angwan Yakubu, from whose community the motorcycle was alleged to have been stolen on Monday.
It was further learnt that efforts by the people of Angwan Yakubu to fish out the alleged culprits  in Gwadanye resulted into the fracas because the Koro resisted attempt of invading their territory.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Abayomi Akeremale, who confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune on phone that five persons were killed, added that the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Zone 4, Makurdi, Michael Zuokumor and his men, were on ground, and that normalcy had since returned to the troubled area.
The constituency office of the state deputy speaker, Honourable Elisha Agwadu and the palace of Sakin were among the houses that were razed down by the angry mob.
Meanwhile, No fewer than 12 pastors of the Church of Christ in Nation (COCIN) have been killed and many other members rendered incapacitated by Boko Haram insurgency in the northern part of the country.
This disclosure was made by the President of COCIN, Reverend Soja Bewarang, while presenting the annual report of the church to the General Council of the church in Jos, Plateau State.
He further said: “As if the great loss we suffered as a church in the last 12 months is not enough, only last week, we heard the brutal killing of Reverend Elisha Kabura in his house in in Borno.
“No doubt, as a church, our heart is broken over the loss of our reverends in Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Maiduguri. These people would have been here with us for this general council meeting if not for their untimely death.”
The COCIN President  called on the Federal Government to take proactive measures against the activities of the dreaded sect to safeguard life and property especially in Kaduna, Yobe, Borno and Bauchi states where the sect’s evil activities are well pronounced.
Meanwhile, THE Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation RESTORE ORDER has said there is no established case of extra judicial killings, arrest or detention by the JTF in Maiduguri, Borno State, contrary to speculations and reports carried in some national dailies.
Spokesman of the JTF, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Sagir,  on Wednesday, told the Nigerian Tribune that soldiers are professionally guided by a mandate and rules of engagement in the conduct of their operations.
According to him, “in our code of conduct and standing instructions, no JTF personnel is allowed to carry video or still camera and cell phones while on operations.
“It is therefore curious to note that the purported film referred to, circulated and reported by Reuter’s and lifted by some national dailies is allegedly filmed by a JTF soldier on operation.
“The film is stage managed and the allegation is baseless, terrorist oriented, spurious and bunkum.”
He stated that he took a critical look at the video and discovered that picture 1 was used as the cover page of the Amnesty International report that was released on November 8, as such, the task force was worried that the same picture was again used by Reuters.
Lieutenant Colonel Sagir added that the bodies deposited in the pictures could not be substantiated to be members of the Boko Haram sect or those of innocent civilians.