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Bomber kills three Borno JTF members, injures 17 others

By Njadvara Musa (Maiduguri) and Charles Akpeji (Jalingo)
07 March 2018   |   4:22 am
A male suicide bomber on a bicycle has detonated improvised explosives devices (IEDs), killing three members of the civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) at the Muna Delti area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Army denies arming herders to attack Taraba
A male suicide bomber on a bicycle has detonated improvised explosives devices (IEDs), killing three members of the civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) at the Muna Delti area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The Commissioner of Police (CP), Damian Chukwu, who confirmed the incident, said the attacker besides killing himself, also injured 17 others in the blast which took place around 8.30p.m. on Monday along Maiduguri-Dikwa road within the metropolis.

In a statement on his behalf yesterday in Maiduguri by the command’s spokesman, Joseph Kwaji, the CP said: “The 17 injured persons had been evacuated from the scene of blast to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) for treatment.”
According to him, the force’s Explosives Ordinance Department (EOD) team had sanitised the area.

The Muna Garage, which houses over 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), lacks perimeter to shield it from attacks. Unfortunately, same situation obtains in other camps across the state.

However, the Nigeria Army has denied arming herdsmen to sustain the killings and acquire the land of the people of Taraba State.

A statement by the Assistant Director Army, Public Relations, 23 Brigade, Major Kamarudeen Adegoke, implored the people to discountenance the rumour, saying it was being peddled by unpatriotic Nigerians to smear the military.

The statement reads in part: “ It (rumour) is not true, rather it is another mischief intended to portray the Nigeria Army in bad light.

The Army is a professional organisation that conducts its exercise and operations without sentiments or alignment to any group.

“All the troops deployed for this exercise are guided by the rules of engagement and respect for human rights in line with international best practices. “

The “frivolous circulation”, according to him, would not deter the military from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities, calling on the public to have “confidence in the Army and approach any of its formations for clarification when in doubt.”

On the ongoing medical outreach in parts of the state, the spokesman enjoined the people to disregard the rumour that the exercise was aimed at vaccinating them with a virus that would incapacitate them in the near future.

The military pledged friendship with all communities where the military operation, Ayem Akpatuma, is ongoing in the state.

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