In another development that raises doubts about the ceasefire deal announced over the weekend, troops of the 7 Division have killed at least 25 members of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
The incident which security officials said happened on Sunday night following an attack on Damboa Local Government Area of Borno state lays credence to comments that the federal government was negotiating with the wrong people.
The federal government had Friday announced it had signed a ceasefire agreement with the Boko Haram, an Islamist sect that has been terrorising Nigeria since 2009. As part of the agreement, a government official had announced that the abducted Chibok girls were going to be released during the current week, an assertion dismissed by the Principal Private Secretary to President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Hassan Tukur, who was said to be negotiating the peace deal with the terror group on behalf of the federal government. Tukur said negotiation continues this week and no date has been set for the release of the girls.
However, less than 24 hours after the announcement of the deal, eight people were killed in an attack on a Borno town.
Insurgents invaded Damboa town at about 5:15pm on Sunday, reports Vanguard, citing a reliable security source. Damboa is south and 85km drive from Maiduguri, the state capital.
“Terrorists numbering over 100 in 7 Hilux pickup vans and motorcycles fully armed with Rocket Propelled Launchers, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), AK47 rifles stormed the town on Sunday night, they realized that the town has started picking up live following returning back of many fleeing residents after military took over from the terrorists who had captured the town in June this year, but we are happy that they were confronted,” another Vanguard source said.
The source however commended the the military troops in Damboa who successfully repelled the attack and killed more than 20 terrorists, recovering cache of arms and ammunition.
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