Boko Haram seizes 6 Borno towns

* Naval fighters trapped in Baga Fish Dam
* Army, Navy commanders flee to Monguno
* Thousands flee to Maiduguri

Despite denials by the Nigerian military, Boko Haram fighters
seized Baga, Doron-Baga, Kross Kawwa, Bunduran, Kekeno and Kukawa
towns of Borno State after three days of fierce battles from
Wednesday to Friday last week, Daily Trust learnt from impeccable
military and political sources in Maiduguri yesterday.

All six towns are major population centres in Kukawa local
government area of northern Borno. There are currently no Nigerian
or Multinational forces in the areas, Daily Trust learnt from
multiple sources last night.

The insurgents, driving in a convoy of more than ten fighter
vehicles, used the main road from Kros Kawwa to launch coordinated
attacks on Wednesday last week, December 26. They overrun the
Multinational ‎forces’ headquarters, a naval fighting base and a
Marine Police base in some of the attacked areas, the sources
said.

The insurgents first attacked a base of the multinational forces
located in Mile Four (an area outside Baga town) at about 4pm and
the military responded. Fighting took place till midnight after
which the insurgents took control of the military base while our
soldiers retreated. Commander of the multinational force, whose
name was given as Brigadier General Hassan, was said to have
escaped at night to a police base in Baga town alongside some of
his men. The following day, Thursday, the Nigerian military
deployed fighter jets between 6 to 7am, bombing the multinational
forces base hoping to prevent Boko Haram from carting away weapons
in case they didn’t do that the previous night. ‎The insurgents,
said multiple sources, then attacked Mile Three, where the Navy had
a fighting base, close to the military. The Navy was said to have
put up stiff resistance but eventually lost control on Thursday. A
commander of the base whose name was given as Air Commodore Degel
escaped to Monguno.

On Friday, the insurgents moved to another naval base located
about three kilometers north of Baga in an area popularly called
Fish Dam on shores of the Lake Chad, through which imports and
exports take place between Nigerians and Chadians. The naval
fighters weresafeguarding Nigerian waterways which the insurgents
occasionally attempted to usein order to attack communities. The
insurgents took over the base after a fight, it was learned. About
40 naval fighters escaped on a ship and local boats through
portions of Lake Chad to a village called Kaiga in the Republic of
Chad, where they were received by Chadian authorities.

The navy fighters, sources said, tried to escape with weapons
into the lake even though the insurgents may have had their hands
on some. The insurgents entered Baga town and attacked a marine
police station on Thursday. They however spared residents, saying
they were after military and civilian JTF fighters. The insurgents
gave civilians the choice to stay or to freely leave the town.
Majority of residents numbering about 2,000 trekked sixty
kilometres to Monguno using bush paths. Commander of the
Multinational forces and members of the civilian JTF were said to
have joined the residents, whose knowledge of the terrain helped
the party to reach Monguno.

Daily Trust learnt that only a trailer driver was killed by the
insurgents when he was seen carrying soldiers who jumped into the
truck in an attempt to escape. It was not clear what happened to
the soldiers.

Sources added that the insurgents were also in Doron-Baga where
hundreds of residents fled through the lake on local boats. ‎The
residents are said to be taking refuge in a border village under
the control of Chadian authorities. On Friday, the insurgents made
attempts to takeover the army’s 8th Brigade in Monguno town but the
military repelled them. The insurgents however overran an army base
in Kekeno (a town in Kukawa local government area), our sources
said. The sources said the insurgents are currently in control of
the six major towns in Kukawa making them in full control of the
local government area with water ways accessing Chad. It was
gathered that weak old men and women are currently trapped in the
six towns even though majority have freely left.

Daily Trust reporters in Maiduguri said yesterday that of the
tensof thousands of the residents of the fishing and farming
communities that fled out of Doro and Baga, thousands still missing
in the bush between Baga and Maiduguri. Thousands who made it to
Maiduguri by both trekking and motor commuting have gathered
adjacent to the popular Baga Road Market, Maiduguri, over the last
couple of days, sleeping in the open, partly waiting for the
possible arrival of their missing relations.

A Borno State Civilian JTF leader in Borno State told Daily
Trust yesterday, “As I am talking to you now, you cannot find 300
residents in Baga and Doro and other communities put together.” He
added, “Soldiers themselves fled from the Kukawa LGA communities
(including Baga and Doro) to Monguno on Friday, but a military
reinforcement was quickly mobilised there between Saturday and
Sunday. While thousands have found their way to Maiduguri from Baga
and Doro and surrounding communities, my members have reliably
reported to me that no fewer than two thousand fled to Yobe State
through through Damasak and Gaidam.

“The Divisional Police State at Baga is empty as the DPO and his
men there fled because an insurgent happened to be arrested by the
police and his fellow insurgents had vowed to get him out at
whatever cost.This is the much I can tell you. Security there is
very fragile and, if there are people there at all, they may not be
up to 500 as at today (Sunday),” he said.

Since Saturday, the usually vehicle-packed space adjacent to
Baga Road Market, Maiduguri has been heavily crowded by the fleers.
Some of them recounted their ordeal to Daily Trust.”As I am
speaking to you now, thousands of our returnees, including my
father and mother and many of my family members and friends, are
still missing in the bush between Lake Chad and Maiduguri,”
Muhammad Bukar from Kangarwa near Baga said.

“The insurgents invaded our town on Wednesday,” Garba Adam of
Doron Baga said. “When they came, they told us not to fear, that
the town had now become part of Daula [Islamic State], and that
whoever wished to stay as a resident of the Daula could do so and
whoever wished to leave could also do so.So on Thursday, we left
the town.Residents fled in different directions.”

Borno State Government, which was celebrating the rebuilding of
communities and return of IDPs to the seized towns in Kukawa, has
now been forced to establish new camps for displaced persons. The
State Emergency Management Agency and humanitarian workers are
engaged in settling displaced persons in camps with medical and
food supplies. Displaced persons had earlier been resettled in 14
of the 20 local government areas once controled by Boko Haram. Over
30,000 homes, hospitals, water installations, schools and palaces
of traditional rulers were rebuild before displaced persons
returned.

The UN and other international development agencies were
initially against the return of displaced persons until the
Nigerian military gave assurances. Apart from Kukawa, 13 other
local government areas where displaced persons returned are under
the military even though there are reports of fears in areas like
Bama, Ngala and Mobbar LGAs which were hitherto occupied as
well.

Shettima hosts emergency security confab today

Due to the deteriorating security situation in northern Borno,
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State will today host ‎an
emergency extraordinary security meeting in Maiduguri ‎to be
attended by heads of security establishments, leadership of the
Civilian JTF and hunters, traditional rulers and Borno elders. The
state’s three Senators, 10 House of Reps and 28 state assembly
members, selected chairmen and commissioners from local government
areas affected by recent attacks, leadership of the University of
Maiduguri and selected tertiary institutions, chairmen of the
Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigeria Bar Association, Nigerian Union of
Journalists, National Council of Women Societies and Nigeria Legion
in Borno State are also expected to attend.

The governor’s spokesman Isa Gusau, who announced this in a
statement issued on Friday, said the meeting will hold at 4pm
during which participants will review the situation in view of
recent developments, make suggestions and come up with a resolution
that will be delivered to President Buhari by a delegation.

The state government and other institutions concerned by aspects
of the resolutions will take necessary and immediate actions to
implement them, the statement said.

Gusau recalled in the statement that Governor Kashim Shettima
has on different occasions, including in recent weeks, met with
President Muhammadu Buhari and other security stakeholders over
matters of security in Borno State and the President has regularly
proved his empathy, commitment and determination to end the Boko
Haram crisis in order to create enabling environment for the
aggressive rebuilding of destroyed communities, rehabilitation and
resettlement of victims which the Borno government has been doing
since 2015.‎