Suicide bomber killed in unsuccessful attack on Maiduguri-Damaturu.
The Nigerian Army has said the days of Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram terror group, are numbered, adding that his allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is indicative of the group’s depletion and imminent defeat.
Speaking on Sunday on the Hausa service of the BBC, the acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman Kukasheka, described Shekau as a “drowning man”, adding that Nigerians need not entertain any fear that his so-called allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS would translate to a renewed and reinvigorated reign of terror in the North-east, as the nation’s military is in control of the situation.
Shekau, in an audio recording posted on his Twitter account on Saturday had pledged Boko Haram’s allegiance to ISIS, which in recent weeks has been pushed back by the Iraqi army in Mosul and Tikrit.
Kukasheka said: “With or without the allegiance to ISIS, the days of Shekau have already been numbered, because all the insurgents’ training camps and hideouts in the affected northeastern territories have been destroyed and the terrorists routed from their camps and hideouts.
“Those who have escaped our cordon-and-search operations in the Sambisa forest and the Lake Chad Basin areas have been forced to flee and abandon their operational vehicles, arms and ammunition.”
He however admitted that Boko Haram’s declaration of allegiance to ISIS was aimed at instilling “fear and terror” among Nigerian citizens, because the modus operandi of the Boko Haram insurgents are similar to the Islamist fundamentalists in the Middle East.
“Shekau’s public allegiance to ISIS clearly indicates that he may surrender or will be killed in the ongoing joint military operations of Nigeria and the three neighbouring countries of Chad, Cameroun and Niger,” Usman said.
In the audio message, the Boko Haram leader purportedly said: “We announce our allegiance to the caliph... and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity.
“We call on Muslims everywhere to pledge allegiance to the caliph.”
In November, the leader of ISIS Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi accepted pledges of allegiance from jihadists in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
In January, militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan announced that they were forming an “IS province”.
However, as the Nigerian army dismissed Shekau’s allegiance, a suicide bomber who attempted to blow up a bridge on the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road lost his life yesterday when his explosives went off before reaching his target.
The highway remains the only safe route into Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Other highways into Maiduguri remain infested with members of Boko Haram, making the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway very strategic, which is evident in the numbers of military checkpoints and police patrols on it.
This, nonetheless, has not discouraged members of the sect from attacking the road, particularly the Beneisheikh bridge, which is the only bridge on the highway.
A resident of Beneisheikh, who did not want to be named, told THISDAY that an attempt to blow up the bridge was made just moments after the Muslims Zuhr prayers on Saturday.
The suicide bomber, he said, was male who was driving a grey Volkswagen Golf car.
He said the suicide bomber was seen driving towards the military and Civilian JTF checkpoints at the beginning of the bridge, but before he could reach the checkpoint, the vehicle he was driving exploded killing him instantly on the spot.
He said: “The suicide bomber could not reach his target before the bomb exploded, killing him and causing injuries to dozens of roadside hawkers and beggars within the vicinity.”
A security source, who also confirmed the incident, said: “Normalcy has been restored, there is no problem now.
Vehicles are driving past and people are going about their business.”
Meanwhile, the armies of Niger and Chad on Sunday launched a “ground and air” offensive against Boko Haram in Borno, a source from the Nigerien government said.
“An offensive is underway against Boko Haram,” the source told AFP. “Very early this morning, the troops from Niger and Chad began an offensive against Boko Haram… in the area of Bosso and near to Diram.”
Chad, Cameroun and Niger have already been helping Nigeria in its battle against Boko Haram.
On Friday, the African Union (AU) endorsed the creation of a regional force of more than 8,000 troops to combat the group.
As the latest offensive began early Sunday, a resident and an aid worker told AFP there was heavy arms fire close to Niger’s border with Nigeria. A local radio station also said that a convoy of more than 200 vehicles was moving towards the area.
Culled: This Day
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