Three suicide bombers die in Borno blasts

The Borno State Police Command said yesterday that three suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked Muna and Dusuma villages on the outskirts of Maiduguri before blowing up themselves.

The spokesman of the command, Mr. Victor Isuku, said that the first explosion occurred around Muna garage near the entrance of the city where two suspected male bombers were killed.

The renewed pockets of violence in a section of the country considered to have been effectively regained from the once feared Boko Haram insurgents by the military, have triggered fresh concerns over security and the government’s quest to drive investments in that part of the country.

“Today, about 0438 hours, two male suicide bombers detonated Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) strapped to their bodies near Alhaji Bukar Gujari filling station in Muna garage area at the entrance of Maiduguri. All the bombers died instantly without killing anybody,” the statement read in part.

The police spokesman, however, noted that a truck parked near the scene was partly damaged by the explosive.Isuku further disclosed that another suspected suicide bomber detonated the strapped explosives at Dusuman village, killing himself after wounding an 80-year-old man who prevented him from causing more havoc.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has charged the General Officer Commanding 8 Task Force Division, Maj.-Gen. Ali Nani, to “beef up security” against attacks by fleeing Boko Haram insurgents in the state and the Lake Chad region.

Buratai, who gave the charge at Gubio town while addressing the soldiers on how to rout out the remnants from Sambisa Forest and border communities in the North-East, said the GOC should ensure that the fleeing insurgents do not again attack any of the communities in northern Borno and shores of Lake Chad.

Besides, the Chief of Army Staff has called for deliberate effort to remove mines from the Sambisa Forest after the sack of the terrorists from the area.According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Buratai, who made the call in an interview in Maiduguri yesterday, said that this effort would require the assistance of the United Nations (UN), relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and development partners.

According to Buratai, this is because such a project requires heavy resources and effort that the country alone might not be able to finance.“The army is currently doing a limited demining of routes in the forest to enable troops to move around for operations.

“Strictly speaking, we have not started demining the sambisa Forest.“The areas we are concentrating on are where we are working, where our troops will have to move from one point to the other.

“These are the efforts we are making to create safe lanes for troops to pass from one point to the other.“But, for our deliberate demining efforts, it will require much, much resources, much more effort, and we may even request the civilian demining support in that regard.”