13 killed, 8 injured in fresh Boko Haram attack in Borno •N/East no longer safe for the sect —FG

REPORTS reaching the Nigerian Tribune in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Wednesday, indicated that there was an attack at a police station in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, leaving two police officers killed.
Locals told the Nigerian Tribune that at about 8.00 a.m, gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect attacked the police station.
But, in an ensued battle with the military, seven members of the insurgents were killed.
A member of the Gwoza emirate council, who did not want his name in print, told the Nigerian Tribune that the emir, Alhaji Idrissa Timta, was in Maiduguri to see the governor over the incident.
Meanwhile, reports carried by the BBC Hausa, monitored in Maiduguri at 3.00 p.m said “four people were killed, while eight others injured in an attack on Tuesday night at Gamboru-Ngala”
According to the bulletin, “the attack took place in Fulatari ward at about 2.00 a.m by suspected Boko Haram members.”
A resident who did not give his name said “I believe the attack was to retaliate the response of residents, who answered the call by youth volunteers from Maiduguri who stormed Gamboru-Ngala and administered an oath of allegiance on volunteers.”
He said the Boko Haram sect members were not happy with the overwhelming support given to the youth volunteers, hence the reason they struck.
The broadcast further stated that one member of the sect was killed in the encounter.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said it is confident that the three states currently under the state of emergency have become unsafe for leaders of the insurgent group.
It also maintained that the statement credited to the military Joint Task Force (JTF), which said leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, may have died, should inspire confidence in Nigerians rather than discourage them.
Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, who made the assertions while briefing State House correspondents in Abuja, on Wednesday, observed that the imposition of the state of emergency had achieved its purpose.
Noting that life was gradually returning to normal, he said “for four years now, Borno State has not witnessed any durbar, but this year, thousands of people in Borno witnessed durbar.
Zaria also had its own durbar, which was suspended three or four years ago because of security situation.
“Significantly, several portions of Borno State that had already come under siege by the militants have been reclaimed and the militants have been dislodged from those areas.
“Economic activities in Borno and Yobe have resumed significantly in the aftermath of the activities and good work being done by the special operations forces.”
He revealed that though the war against terror was its war, the Federal Government had deliberately refrained from commenting on Boko Haram issues, because it wanted the military to tell its own stories.
Maku noted that the military’s position that Shekau may have been killed should not raise doubt but confidence in Nigerians.
The minister, who observed that it was not possible to contain guerrilla-style insurgency overnight anywhere in the world, added that “we are regaining territories, we are regaining confidence and stability. We must be proud of our security forces.”
Maku appealed for the continued cooperation of the media to ensure the complete success of the war against the insurgents.
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