OPERATIVES of the Joint Task Force, made up of soldiers, on Monday went haywire in Maiduguri, Borno State, and killed 30 persons in reprisal for the attack on their patrol vehicle in the town.

Most of the victims, The PUNCH learnt, were civilians.

The soldiers were also said to have burnt at least 50 houses, shops and vehicles in the Gwange area of the town.

Some of the victims were reportedly burnt inside their houses beyond recognition.

An Improvised Explosive Device believed to have been planted by member of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, hit the JTF vehicle in the early hours of Monday and killed the leader of the patrol team, an unnamed Lieutenant and injured other members of the patrol team.

The incident occurred along the popular Lagos Street in the Borno State capital town. Maiduguri is believed to be the base of Boko Haram

In retaliation, tens of soldiers were said to have stormed the street and shot indiscriminately at the residents and motorists on the busy road leading to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

The PUNCH learnt on Tuesday that some of the dead victims were killed inside their houses while their corpses were set on fire by the angry soldiers.

About 50 vehicles parked along the street and in front of houses were also set ablaze.

Maiduguri witnessed a similar incident last Sunday when soldiers reportedly killed and indiscriminately set properties on fire to avenge the murder of two soldiers, one of them a Lt.Col.

Reports indicated that some members of Boko Haram died in the soldiers’ rage on Monday but no one could give a specific figure even as the area was cordoned off.

An eyewitness told journalists that more than 50 persons, including some suspected terrorists were killed, while hundreds of houses and shops belonging to residents of Gwange were razed down in the incident.

During a visit to the area at about 3pm, the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, said the government would address the situation when the governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, who was on a foreign trip to India, Pakistan and Turkey returned home.

The Deputy Governor appealed to Boko Haram members to lay down their arms for peace to prevail. He added that anytime the sect struck, the innocent always bore the brunt of retaliatory attacks.

Confirming the incident, the JTF Spokesman, Lt. Colonel Sagir Musa, in a text message sent to journalists in Maiduguri said that members of the some Boko Haram sect detonated an IED on a Hilux Patrol vehicle of the JTF, injuring two soldiers aboard the vehicle.

Nigerian soldiers have shot dead more than 30 civilians in the northeastern city of Maiduguri after their colleague was killed, according to news agencies.

Monday's attack was carried out by soldiers attached to a special army unit policing Maiduguri, the spiritual home of Boko Haram, an armed group that is fighting Western influence and wants to form an Islamic state, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The killings are likely stoke anger in a population already alienated by checkpoints, security force harassment and the threat of being killed by soldiers who are targets of Boko Haram's increasingly bloody guerrilla attacks, AP reported.

It said its reporter in Maiduguri counted the dead while on a tour of the still-smouldering neighbourhood on Monday afternoon.

The journalist saw no weapons or evidence that the dead belonged to the sect, which has concentrated its attacks mainly in the predominantly Muslim north; the south is largely Christian.

A soldier nearby, who did not identify himself, claimed the attack was a response to a bombing nearby earlier on Monday that he said killed an army lieutenant.

"They killed our officer!" the soldier shouted. "We had no options!"

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reporting from the capital Abuja, quoted an army spokesman as saying that "there was an attack on an armed patrol vehicle in which it is believed two to four soldiers were killed".

"The spokesperson did not give exact figures - he said that they [soldiers] did sustain casualties and that there were some injured security personnel," she said.

Homes burnt

The AP reporter said he saw about 50 homes as well as businesses burnt by soldiers. The premises are near the Nigerian Union of Journalists state office and other buildings in Maiduguri.

It appeared the soldiers attacked the area using assault rifles and heavy machine guns mounted on
armoured personnel carriers, the AP reported.

Rounds shot from the heavy machine guns destroyed cars and set roofs on fire, which razed buildings and caused damage at a two-story shopping complex.

The journalist accompanied Zanna Umar Mustapha, the deputy governor of Borno state, on the tour.

State officials declined to comment about the killings and urged those traveling with the convoy not to take photographs of
the destruction out of fear of further alienating those living in the region.

Nigeria's military has been accused of committing so-called "extrajudicial killings" while in pursuit of Boko Haram.

The military now routinely claims massive operations with dozens of people killed, always referred to as Boko Haram members or sympathisers, announcements that cannot be independently verified.

The military also downplays its own casualties suffered during the operations.

Boko Haram has killed both Christians and Muslims in their attacks, as well as soldiers and security forces.

okosodo: They killed boko haram members , not civilians, go and tell your brothers to stop causing troubles

okosodo: They killed boko haram members , not civilians, go and tell your brothers to stop causing troubles

okosodo: They killed boko haram members , not civilians, go and tell your brothers to stop causing troubles

During a visit to the area at about 3pm, the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, said the government would address the situation when the governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, who was on a foreign trip to India, Pakistan and Turkey returned home.

talk2me006:
I wonder what is in your skull vault called brain.
i believe it is a goat brain.
you dont even pity of innocent civilian in maiduguri or are all people of maiduguri are bokoharam.

acidosis™:

whats your proof? can you repeat these lines in the court?

okosodo: They killed boko haram members , not civilians, go and tell your brothers to stop causing troubles

acidosis™:

whats your proof? can you repeat these lines in the court?

size38: Pikin wey say him mama no go sleep, himself no go sleep too. Abi no be so my people? They promised to make naija ungovernable so how can they know peace in their region?

killuminati: e be like na akamu dey inside ur skull brain

Classically Idiotic...

jude33084:

No need Ť☺ insult others here just air your opinion about τhe issue at hand.