- Defence Minister relocates to fight insecurity in Sokoto, as Odinkalu throws shades at Matawalle
Muhammadu Yahaya, Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State, has condemned the recent attack in Mafa, Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State.
Over 80 people have been reportedly killed and more than 100 missing after men suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists swooped on Mafa, a community in Yobe State, the northeastern part of Nigeria.
Governor Yahaya, in a press statement signed on Wednesday by the Director-General, Press Affairs, Gombe Government House, Ismaila Misilli, described the attack as a senseless act of violence that has caused immense grief to the affected families and communities.
Members of the community are still searching for their loved ones after the rampaging terrorists set fire shops, homes and indeed the entire community on fire.
The attack took place on Sunday afternoon.
A member of the community who spoke under anonymity said : “We lost our families, friends and associates to the deadliest attack at all times in Yobe State.
“The government must not be allowed to go on while people are mowed down in this heinous manner. The normalisation of brutal killing in Nigeria is alarming.”
“Around 150 suspected Boko Haram terrorists armed with rifles and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) attacked Mafa ward on more than 50 motorcycles,” said Dungus Abdulkarim, a police spokesman in Yobe State where the village is located.
“They killed many people and burned many shops and houses. We are yet to ascertain the actual number of those killed in the attack.”
Abdulkarim said the attack was apparent retaliation for the killing of two suspected Boko Haram fighters by local vigilantes.
Yobe is one of three states on the front line of a 15-year insurgency by Boko Haram and other hardline groups which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million. The armed groups have strengthened their position by working with gangs of criminals known as “bandits”, who raid villages, kill and abduct residents, and burn homes after looting them.
Officials said efforts were continuing to confirm the number of people killed in Mafa.
“It has been established that at least 81 people were killed in the attack,” said Bulama Jalaluddeen.
“Fifteen bodies had already been buried by their relations by the time soldiers reached Mafa for the evacuation of the corpses. In addition to these, some unspecified number of dead victims from nearby villages who were caught up in the attack were taken and buried by their kinsmen before the arrival of the soldiers. Many people are still missing and their whereabouts unknown.”
A military official who accompanied the army’s commanding officer for Yobe to Mafa on Monday evening said the route to the village had been rigged with explosives, which troops managed to defuse.
“We recovered 37 corpses and brought them to Babangida General Hospital,” the official told the Reuters news agency. He declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Modu Mohammed, who lives in Mafa, said several more residents were missing and estimated the death toll at more than 100. He said some corpses were still in the bush.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Christopher Musa, have finally relocated to Sokoto in obedience to President Bola Tinubu’s directive to coordinate troops’ efforts in the fight against banditry and other elements of insecurity.
A statement by the ministry of defence, yesterday, noted that the minister and CDS, on arrival, paid a crucial visit to the 8 Division Headquarters in Sokoto State.
The Minister, the statement stated, was accompanied by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj Gen Emmanuel Undiandeye; and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division, Brig Gen IA Ajose, alongside other very senior military officers.
“The purpose of this high-level visit was to review the ongoing operations of 8 Division and issue a directive to the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji to intensify their efforts in flushing out bandits and terrorists from the region, in line with the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“During the visit, Dr. Matawalle expressed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to restoring peace and security in the Northwest,” the statement stated.
But Chidi Odinkalu, a law teacher and rights activist, could not resist throwing a jab at Matawalle, who was fully kitted out in military garb.
Read his tweet below.
