The heroic volunteers of the group known as the civilian JTF (Joint Task Force) foiled a suicide bomber who attempted to sneak into Biu, a large town in the southern part of Borno State on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.
According to the Vanguard the bomber was accosted by the civilian JTF during a routine check and reportedly detonated the explosives he was carrying, killing only himself, when he realized that he would be thoroughly searched at the check-point.
Meanwhile, residents of Maiduguri metropolis experienced another night of terror and murder as gunshots and explosives rocked the city overnight as the military fought off terrorists who attempted to invade the city through Moramti and Dala villages.
The Boko Haram militants in a convoy of Toyota Hilux vehicles armed with AK 47s, Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, Rocket Propelled Grenades, RPGs, and anti-aircraft guns attacked Moronti village near Maiduguri in Borno State and killed five people, before soldiers repelled the insurgents at around 2pm on Tuesday.
The gunmen, according to Hamisu Abba, a resident, sneaked and crossed into the village after crossing the Ngadabul River and launched the attacks by firing several grenades into residential houses, thus killing five people as they slept.
“Some of the grenades fell on some of the houses yesterday night killing five people. They were sleeping in the open, when the grenades fell on them,” said one Abba who spoke on how his neighbours met their untimely death.
The militants could have overrun Maiduguri, if there were no trenches around the Nigerian Army 333 Artillery premises near Moronti.
As the repulsion of militants continued over the night, some of the terrified villagers fled to neighbouring areas like Gomari and Ajillari for safety.
“It was the trenches around the military barracks of Giwa and Maimalari and the 333 Artillery near the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, base that prevented the terrorists from causing more havoc to lives and property in the area.
“Most of us were asleep after midnight yesterday; when we started hearing gunshots and firings of grenades from Ajillari, near the river bank of Ngadabul. Few minutes later, one of our neighbours lost two family members from grenade shots in his compound, while three others were also killed at
the village fringe, two kilometres from Ajillari,” Kaumi Fugu, a village head in Moronti told the Vanguard.
The village imam, Mallam Yunus Mirgwi said that all the five victims of the attack were buried yesterday morning, according to Islamic injunctions.
“By 1.45am, troops in patrol vehicles and trucks, swiftly moved in towards Moronti along the Maiduguri-Damturu road, and commenced the repulsion of the insurgents by firing sporadic grenades and artillery shelling that lasted for over an hour,” said Mirgwi.
