Wednesday 13 July 2011

Boko Haram: Maiduguri residents flee •Another bomb blast in Suleja •Plateau govt evacuates students from UNIMAID •Borno elders accuse JTF of killing innocent civilians •FG to dialogue with Boko Haram

THOUSANDS of people are still fleeing Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, following the rumour doing the rounds that the government is planning to re-peat the Odi massacre in Borno, as a result of the Boko Haram  menace in the state.

When Nigerian Tribune visited the Kano motor park on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of people were seen waiting anxiously for vehicles.
Some groups of Almajiris who were going to ‘Tashan Journey’ on the outskirts of Maiduguri to board trucks going to Kano and other parts of the northern state, told Nigerian Tribune that their Mallams asked them to flee, because the soldiers would come and kill them all.
Also, some students who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune said transport fare had skyrocketed, as buses to Kano from Maiduguri now charged N5,500 as against N2,600
“Even at that, there are no vehicles to take us home and our parents are disturbed,” they added.
Meanwhile, 18 Borno elders, led by Dr Shettima Ali Monguno, on Tuesday, in Maiduguri, accused the Joint Task Force, Operation Restore Order in Borno of killing hundreds of youths in the state for no concrete reasons other than that they were youths.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Committee of Borno Elders and Leaders of Thought, including Shettima Ali Monguno, OFR; Imam Baba Gana Asil, the Imam Idaini of Borno; Alhaji Garba Abba Satomi, OON; Alhaji Bukar Bolori, OON; Alhaji Usman Gaji Galtimari, CON; Alhaji Kyari Sandabe, OFR; Brigadier-General Abba Kyari (retd); Air Vice Marshal Al-amin Daggash, CFR; Alhaji Shettima Ali Kidaji; Ambassador Yusufari, OFR; AIG Zanna Laminu Mamadi, mni (retd); AIG Muktar Alkali, OON, mni (retd); Alhaji Tijjani Bolori, OON; Alhaji Dr Bulama Mali Gubio, mni; Alhaji Umar Abba Shuwa; Alhaji Ibrahim El-Zubairu; Mallam Ibrahim Mustapha and Alhaji Gambo Gubio mni.
According to them, many communities had been sacked and people in their thousands were fleeing Maiduguri, because of the humanitarian crisis the state was in and as such demanded the immediate withdrawal of all soldiers on the streets of Maiduguri.

Meanwhile, another bomb blast hit Madalla, a suburb of Suleja town in Niger State, the second in less than 48 hours, but no casualty was recorded.
The explosive was allegedly planted close to the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) in Madalla at about 8:30 p.m by yet-to-be identified persons, causing panic in the area after it exploded.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Richard Oguche, confirmed the story, adding that the bomb was thrown close to ECWA church, but the explosion did not cause any harm.
In another development, the Plateau State government has concluded arrangements to evacuate its students at the University of Miaduguri, following indefinite closure of the institution as a result of the latest clash between the Joint Task Force and the Boko Haram sect in Miaduguri.
Nigerian Tribune learnt that the students of the institution, who are of Plateau origin, made distress calls to the state government in the early hours of Tuesday, following the closure of the university.
A source close to the students told the Nigerian Tribune by phone that some of them, who attempted to travel to Jos on their own, were stranded at the motor parks within the state capital.
Source: Nigerian Tribune
Good morning guys, how was your night?
Is dialogue really the best solution to this 'haram' issue? What do yout think?

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