Boko Haram attacks Yobe community, targets Damaturu, reportedly destroys phone masts

Suspected members of the Boko Haram on Sunday evening attacked Babangida community, the headquarters of Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State.

An army spokesperson told PREMIUM TIMES that the insurgents’ plan was to attack Damaturu, the state capital. But the plan was foiled by security operatives who repelled the attack.

The details of the casualty from the attack could not be obtained at the time of this report.

A top security official in Damaturu, the state capital, told PREMIUM TIMES that many residents of Babangida ran out of the town into the bush for safety while others hid in their houses when the attack occurred.

The security source, who was briefed on the attack, said the insurgents entered the town with five gun trucks while two others were parked on the outskirts of the town.

A resident of the area said the insurgents burnt mobile phone masts in the town.

“Someone told me that he saw the boys burning down the masts of MTN and Airtel in the town,” the source, who was not in the town when the attack occurred, said.

PREMIUM TIMES made repeated efforts to speak to residents who were in the town when the attack occurred. Their phone lines did not connect suggesting the claim of the destruction of masts was true.

The Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Sector 2 Operation Lafiya Dole, Damaturu, Chinonso Oteh, confirmed the attack.

He said the intention of the insurgents was to infiltrate Damaturu, the state capital.

According to Mr Oteh, an army lieutenant, “the attempt by the insurgents to infiltrate Damaturu actually failed because of our superior fire and Airforce support that was provided by the Nigerian Air Force.

“Actually, Babangida is the area that those bad boys always gather before they start coming to Damaturu,” he said.

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“Everything is under control. There is no cause for alarm,” he added.

Babangida is about 50km from Damaturu, Yobe State capital. The town has been attacked three times in the past several months.

In one of the attacks, the palace of the Emir of Jajare was attacked with the emir narrowly escaping the attack.

Yobe, alongside Borno and Adamawa, has suffered most from the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria.

Over 30,000 people have been killed since the insurgency began in 2009. Millions of others have been displaced.