*Residents flee air raids
*Northern govs plead: Avoid civilian casualty



The military, yesterday, extended the curfew in some
parts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, to 24
hours, in continuation of the emergency rule imposed on
the state alongside Yobe and Adamawa States, on
Tuesday, to curb Boko Haram insurgent activities.
The curfew extension came on a day President Goodluck
Jonathan told the insurgents to surrender and embrace
the amnesty proposed for them by the Federal
Government.
Northern governors also warned against civilian
casualty in the implementation of the emergency rule in
the three north-eastern states.
Reports, yesterday, said residents of a community in
Borno State, Marte, were fleeing air strikes by the
Nigerian Airforce jets and helicopter gunships on
suspected Boko Haram camps.
The spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno
State, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, listed 12 neighbourhoods in
Maiduguri where a 24-hour curfew was being imposed.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) also said troops
arrested 65 suspected Boko Haram members trying to
enter the Borno State capital after fleeing aerial
bombardment elsewhere.
The DHQ insinuated that the insurgents were trying to
infiltrate Maiduguri.


The imposition of the curfew in the Borno State capital
was said to pave the way for the troops deployed to the
state to embark on a house- to- house search, as well
as face insurgents still residing within the metropolis
and Jere council area.



A press release by the JTF spokesman, Musa, said, “In
order to sustain the ongoing Special Operations in the
face of recent Boko Haram attacks in some areas within
Maiduguri metropolis, the JTF is imposing 24hours
curfew with effect from today (Saturday), 18 May,
2013”..
He stated that the areas/wards include Gamboru-
Customs Area, Mari Kuwait Area of University of
Maiduguri, Bakin Kogi Area and Kasuwan Shanu-Kofar
Biyu Area.
Other areas under the 24hours curfew are Rawan Zafi-
Customs Area, 202 Housing Estate, Bama Road, 303
Housing Estate Bama Road, Dakiwa Lowcost Housing
Estate.
Also affected are Simari-Zannari-Kwanan Yobe Area,
505 Abba Gana Terab Housing Estate, Muna Garage
Road, Chad Basin Muna Garage Road, Baga Road
Federal Lowcost Area, Bolori, Jajeri and Umamari Area.
The JTF appealed to the public to continue to cooperate
with security agencies by providing credible and timely
information which will assist the troops in carrying out
their assignment.


The statement said JTF operatives could be reached on
phone numbers 08064174066, 07085464012,
08154429346 and 08142333138 to pass on information
on terror activities.
`LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS’
Hinting that the option of dialogue was still open to the
Boko Haram insurgents, President Jonathan asked them,
yesterday, to surrender.


“Those (insurgents) who are willing to dialogue and lay
down their weapons can approach the National
Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution on the
Security Challenges in Northern Nigeria. The work of
that Committee remains significant and relevant, and it
is bound to be impactful”, the president, who spoke
through his Special Adviser on Public Affairs, Mr Reuben
Abati, in an interview with Sunday Vanguard, said.



He declared that “there can be no illusion of simplicity
where the fight against terrorism is involved.”
Jonathan noted that “terrorists strike at will with deadly
cruelty”, adding, “The overriding consideration (in
imposing emergency rule) is the peace, security and
stability of Nigeria. While the option of dialogue and
peaceful resolution is being pursued, government will
also not condone impunity of any sort, or the obvious
attempt by terrorists to create and run an enclave
within the Nigerian state.
“If anyone is in doubt, the Commander in Chief of
Nigeria’s Armed Forces has made it clear: this
government will not tolerate any attempt to violate the
sovereignty of Nigeria. Those who are willing to
dialogue and lay down their weapons can approach the
National Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful
Resolution on the Security Challenges in Northern
Nigeria. The work of that Committee remains significant
and relevant, and it is bound to be impactful.”



Read Abati’s full interview
`OPERATE BY THE RULES’
In the meantime, the Northern States Governors Forum
(NSGF) has advised the military to respect the sanctity
of human lives, especially civilians who are not involved
in the crisis in the three states where emergency rule
has been imposed.



According to the Chairman of the Forum, Dr Mu’azu
Babangida Aliyu, who is also the governor of Niger
State, in a press statement by his Chief Press
Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, yesterday, in Minna,
security agencies deployed to the affected states should
operate by their rules of engagement.
The Forum expressed support for the emergency rule
while believing the dispensation will complement the
offer of amnesty made to Boko Haram to restore peace
to the North.
The statement called on the people of Borno, Yobe and
Adamawa to cooperate with the military personnel in
enforcing the emergency rule to avoid unnecessary loss
of lives.



The governors, while commending Jonathan for taking
the action, appealed to members of Boko Haram to
accept government’s gesture of amnesty so that lasting
peace could return to the North and Nigeria in general.
The NSGF commiserated with the families of those who
lost their lives in an attack by gunmen in Daura, Katsina
State, on Thursday, and advised citizens to remain
vigilant and report any suspicious movement or persons
to the police or other security agencies.
A regular meeting of the Forum, scheduled to hold in
Kaduna on Tuesday, has been shifted to Tuesday, May
28, 2013 to allow governors of Borno, Yobe and
Adamawa states monitor the take off of the emergency
rule in their domains.



Top on the agenda of the meeting is deliberation on the
report of the Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and
security submitted to the governors in Abuja last month.
The meeting will also discuss the proclamation of
emergency rule on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
INFILTRATION
In a statement on the arrest of 65 suspected insurgents,
yesterday, the DHQ, in a statement, said, “In
continuation of the mission to rid the nation’s territories
of all insurgents’ activities, the Special Forces have
apprehended 65 persons confirmed to be terrorists as
they made attempt to infiltrate Maiduguri while fleeing
from various camps now under attack.
“A total of 11 vehicles, 4 tricycles and 24 handsets were
also seized in the process. All the suspects are in
custody of Joint Task Force and are currently being
interrogated.
“Meanwhile, the camps of the terrorists have been
found deserted by fleeing insurgents when troops of the
Special Task Force stormed the localities. The facilities
have been occupied by troops”.



In another development, the statement said, “Troops
have engaged and dislodged elements of insurgents
groups who carried out attacks on citizens in localities
such as Gamboru ward yesterday (Friday).
“At the end of the encounter, a total of 10 suspected
terrorists were confirmed dead while weapons such as
Rocket Propelled Grenade launchers, assorted
ammunition and rifle magazines were recovered. The
area is being combed to fish out any of the surviving
insurgents.
“Also, some of the fleeing insurgents from various
camps have been noted to be in search of fuel from
neighboring communities.
“Citizens are advised to report to JTF, any group of
persons roaming around the local communities with
large quantities of containers in search of fuel. The
advance of troops is continuing in all fronts as
scheduled.



“The Defence Headquarters has further enjoined the
troops to sustain the intensity of the operations”
FLEEING RESIDENTS
In the Marte district of Borno State, yesterday, some
residents were fleeing east, towards a town on the
Cameroon border, 42 kilometres away (26 miles). “It
has been scary in the past three days,” said Buba
Yawuri, whose home is in the town of Kwalaram in Marte
but who has fled to the border town Gomboru Ngala.
“Fighter jets and helicopters kept hovering in the sky
and we kept hearing huge explosions from afar,” he
said.


He said that as the air assaults began, security forces
told residents to stay indoors, cutting off his family’s
access to food and water. “I couldn’t hold on any longer.
I took the bush path and reached Gomboru Ngala early
today (yesterday)”, he said.
Shafi’u Breima, a resident of Gomboru Ngala, said the
border town was receiving a continuous flow of people
arriving from Marte and neighbouring areas.


The phone network in Borno State has all but collapsed
since the emergency measures were imposed but
residents in Gomboru Ngala use phone services from
Cameroon and have been sporadically reachable.
The remote, thinly populated region has porous borders
where criminal groups and weapons have flowed freely
for years. The military has sealed previously unguarded
crossings to block Boko Haram fighters from fleeing
during the offensive.


The military campaign could prove to be the biggest
ever against Boko Haram and is believed to be the first
time Nigeria has carried out air strikes within its own
territory in more than 25 years. Aerial support was
believed to have been used against rioters in the North
in the early 1980s. Many have warned that there is a
risk of high civilian deaths and Nigeria’s military has
been accused of massive rights violations in the past,
including indiscriminate attacks on civilians.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said, on Friday, that he
was “deeply concerned about the fighting in
northeastern Nigeria” and urged the security forces to
“apply disciplined use of force in all operations.”
There are also doubts as to whether the insurgency can
be crushed by force, amid concerns that the militants
will scatter and re-emerge when the offensive
eases,.Nigeria has been urged by various camps to
tackle the root social causes of the conflict, including
acute poverty and government corruption which has
helped radicalise many young Muslims in the North.
The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since
2009, including killings by security forces.


www.vanguardngr.com/2013/05/amid-24-hr-curfew-in-borno-surrender-and-embrace-amnesty-now-jonathan-warns/

I like dat one frm GEJ it is a real carrot-and-stick approach!

General Jonathan is talking tough! but time of amnesty has passed sir kill them ALL

Boko haram looking for petrol? What do they need it for?.ironic considering They don't believe in western education,I wonder what they want to use the pertol for.

Why did'nt the Northern Governors issue statements 12 months or 6months ago calling on locals to report terror activities to security agents?

Who says the SOE is not making a difference?

The Northern Governors are begining to shape up!!!!!!

mikeansy: Why did'nt the Northern Governors issue statements 12 months or 6months ago calling on locals to report terror activities to security agents?

Who says the SOE is not making a difference?

The Northern Governors are begining to shape up!!!!!!

Its really making a difference....A lot has happened and changed in the past 72hrs since 2011