B-HARAM BURN MILITARY BASE, HEALTH CARE CENTER, SCHOOL IN FRESH ATTACK

Military base, school, healthcare centre burnt in fresh B-Haram attack

…Troops kill 2 bandits in Kaduna, rescue 4 kidnap victims
…Nigerian leaders not telling truth about banditry
…Methodist Church
…Urges eminent people to rise, defend Nigerian child

Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents, yesterday, attacked Katarko community in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.

This came as Bishop of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Onuoha, also, yesterday, accused the nation’s leaders of not telling the truth about the banditry ravaging the country.

In the insurgents’ attack,which occurred at about 5:30 am, they also set the military base on fire, burnt down a primary school and a healthcare centre located in the community.

A source in the area told Vanguard that residents fled into the bush, as the insurgents fired sporadically to scare the people.

A resident of the area, Fantami Kura, said the gunmen stormed the community at about 5:30 am when they were going to the mosque for prayers.

He said: “We came out as usual around 5.30 am for prayers. We sighted the gunmen and we immediately alerted our people and ran into bush for safety. They proceeded straight to the military formation in Katarko shooting sporadically and later set the base on fire.”

The number of casualties could not be ascertained, yesterday, and efforts to reach the Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations of Sector 2 of Operation Lafiya Dole in Damaturu, Lieutenant Kennedy Anyanwu, proved abortive.

Katarko community, which is 18 kilometres south of Damaturu, the state capital, had been under attack over 10 times.

Troops kill 2 bandits in Kaduna

Also yesterday, troops of Operation Thunder Strike said two bandits were killed at “Five-Thirty” village in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who disclosed this, said the killing of the bandits followed the attempted kidnap of four women in the village.

According to him, the troops responded to a distress call and mobilised swiftly to the area to engage the bandits.

He said: ‘’Following a gunfight, the bandits abandoned the captives who were then able to escape. After the skirmish, the corpses of two bandits were recovered, with the others having escaped with possible gunshot wounds.

“One soldier sustained bullet injury in the face during the exchange, and is recuperating in hospital.”

Nigerian leaders not telling truth about banditry — Methodist Church

Meanwhile, Bishop of the Methodist Church, Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Onuoha, has accused the country’s leaders of not telling the truth about the banditry ravaging the country.

He spoke against the backdrop of incessant attack on schools in the north to abduct students in their hostels.

Bishop Onuoha, who decried the abductions and negotiations with bandits, called for the relegation of politics to the background to tackle the problem effectively.

He stated that Nigerians should be told the truth about all the abductions perpetuated in the country: who paid what and who got what? He lamented that the country had been made an object of ridicule by its leaders who freely negotiate with bandits.

The cleric, who is the co -chair of the Inter-Faith Dialogue for Peace, condemned what he described as mixing security matters with politics and urged the authorities to urgently address security challenges facing the country.

Onuoha also noted that the education of the Nigerian child was paramount, stressing that the future of Nigeria looked bleak if children of school age could no longer go to school due to the activities of bandits and insurgents, who abduct them from their schools.

He said: “Nigeria’s leaders are not telling the truth about the banditry ravaging the country; who pays what and who gets what. Nigeria has been made an object of caricature by its leaders who freely negotiate with bandits.

‘’We play politics with everything, including security. Education of the Nigerian child is paramount; the future of Nigeria looks bleak if children of school age can no longer attend school due to the activities of bandits who abduct them. Leaders aren’t telling the truth about this banditry ravaging the country.”

Bishop Onuoha urged eminent Nigerians to rise and defend the Nigerian child, warning that the poor, the abandoned, hungry and other vulnerable groups might rise in protest.

He commended the efforts of the military and other security agencies in waging the war against terror and called for more drastic efforts to win the war against banditry.