Strings of Suicide Attacks Put Maiduguri on Edge

Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai 

Over 60 killed in one week; fear grips residents     Buratai warns of all-out offensive against sect.

The last seven days have been horrendous for residents of Maiduguri and its suburbs, with an upsurge in suicide bombings by the Boko Haram sect claiming over 60 lives.

The attacks are coming on the heels of warning by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai of an impending all-out war against the terrorists in the North-east in a matter of days

The latest attack in Maiduguri took place yesterday morning in Umarari Village, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, during which three female underage suicide bombers detonated bombs, killing seven villagers.

This upsurge in attacks is coming despite assurances by the military to annihilate the terrorists by December.
Following the heightened suicide attacks, many in Maiduguri are now living in fear, with Muslim faithful choosing to shun congregational prayers at Mosque for individual prayers at home.
Some of the Muslims who spoke to our correspondent said it was wiser now to avoid congregational prayers centres as it draws the attention of suicide bombers.

One of those that spoke to our correspondent in Maiduguri, Abba Yunus said from recent attacks, Mosques, because of the large gathering are being targeted by suicide bombers.
"I have chosen for now to pray at home especially at nights and in the mornings; it seems to be the time the suicide bombers are on the prowl," said Yunus.

Three underage girls detonated bombs during the attacks on Umarari Village.
A resident of the village, Idris Mohammed told our correspondent on phone that the explosions occurred after the three young girls ran into houses in the village detonating bombs strapped on them.

He confirmed that seven persons, including the three suicide bombers died in the attack.
He equally said twenty other persons were injured and had been assisted by the villagers to hospitals in Maiduguri.
The spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the Northeast, Abdulkadir Ibrahim confirmed the Umarari Village attacks.

Umarari is a village behind Molai which was attacked on Thursday night.
Governor Kashim Shettima who visited the scenes of the attacks, in company of NEMA Director-General, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi commiserated with the families and relations of the deceased even as he urged the people to be more security conscious and report suspicious persons or group of people to the security agencies in the area.    

Just on Wednesday, the suicide bombers attacked Sajere, Maiduguri, killing 7 people.
The most deadly of the raging attacks took place on Thursday in Molai, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, during which 43 people were killed in a Mosque after a suicide attack by suspected Boko Haram members.
Molai is a distance of about 15 Kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and had witnessed some suicide explosions in the past.

The entire Molai Mosque came crumbling down on the worshippers. As mourners gathered to evacuate the corpses another bomb was detonated right in their midst killing more people.
A survivor in the Mosque attack, Tijjani Bulama told journalists that he was lucky to have joined the congregation late for the prayer.
Bulama said his entire household - his father and siblings - were tragically lost in the first twin explosions at the Mosque in Molai.
He said the bang was so loud that he lost his hearing for some minutes and he was also unconscious.

“I could not hear anything again. I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. It was a bad experience for me," he added.
Another residents said a male suicide bomber came into the Molai mosque at about 6.30pm as if he was one of the worshippers and minutes later, a loud sound came from the Mosque; the entire building carved in, killing all worshippers. 

“After the first blast, Civilian JTF, relatives and other people came to rescue the victims; unknown to them, the second one (suicide bomber) detonated his own in their midst killing more people," said the eyewitness.
Borno State Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Opadokun said in a test message after the Molai attacks: “The death toll has risen to 30 in the early hours of Friday as more corpses including the village head of the area, were discovered and evacuated to the hospital mortuary.

Fear grips Maiduguri residents...
Elizabeth Yakubu, a resident of Bulumkutu who lives in the same neighborhood with Sajeri, captures the prevailing mood in the town as follows: "I have restricted going out at night. Whatever I want to buy, I buy before 6:30pm because most of these attacks are at night.
"It is sad that the suicide attacks are on the increase but unfortunately,  since I have a job to do, I cannot flee town just like that, all I have to do is to take precautions."

Ibrahim Idris, a taxi driver was however, more philosophical: "I am a man of faith and believe that when death will come, it will come but it is quite unfortunate that the terrorists seem to be on the prowl and are killing people daily.

"They have successfully sent fear into everyone, we are praying that the government finds a way of arresting these suicide attacks, the rate at which people are dying from bomb attacks is simply unacceptable and if something is not done to put an end to it, I won't be surprised to see people fleeing Maiduguri."

On her part, Hassanatu Kyari, who had earlier fled from Damboa to Molai when it was attacked last year, lamented that the terrorists keep pushing for Maiduguri. I had to flee to Molai from Damboa because of these hoodlums but as they have started pushing for Molai, I may need to make a decision very soon to move into Maiduguri.

"I just pray that the government is able to stop this their push for Maiduguri, because the alternative is that people may have to flee the capital and that will be very disastrous."

Buratai warns of all-out offensive against sect…
Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has in a solemn message to the troops engaged in Operation Lafiya Dole yesterday, warned of the impending all-out war against the Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east in a matter of days.
Buratai stated that "the next few days will be crucial to Operation Lafiya Dole", warning that "it is also crucial to our country Nigeria".
According to him, "our sovereignty as a nation is threatened".

He said: "The Nigerian Army and indeed the military  as the symbol of our nationhood is being challenged.  Our ability to stand and defeat the Boko Haram terrorists in the next few weeks will determine the future of our country.

"We cannot afford to lose the fight. We are better trained and better equipped. The whole nation is behind us. Mr. President is with us. Let us remain steadfast in this noble cause. Be courageous. We must degrade and defeat the terrorists. This job must be done. We must make our country men and women proud."

The latest statement from the CoAS might have been a fallout of the earlier warning issued by the Nigerian military that all Boko Haram terrorists wherever they are, to desist from all acts of terrorism, surrender themselves and face the law now.

Recall that the Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, had last week stated that terrorists’ continued insurgency was an exercise in futility since the military "are aware of all their hideouts, camps and enclaves".
Usman had urged the remnants to "follow their colleagues who have so far surrendered", warning that "failure to surrender will result in serious consequences as our troops are fast closing up with them".

However, it seems as if the warning fell on deaf ears as the terrorists have stepped up suicide bombing attacks that have left close to 60 people dead and several others injured in Maiduguri metropolis in just one week.
The heightened attacks are also coming barely few days after President Muhammadu Buhari assured he was "fully confident" of ending the Boko Haram terrorism by the end of this year, saying that the military "is well-positioned to meet the December deadline which they had been given".