Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State militant group have captured a military base in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state after overnight clashes with troops, sources have disclosed.
Machine-gun wielding fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the base in the town of Marte in the Lake Chad area overnight Friday into Saturday, two sources said.
“The priority now is to reclaim the base from the terrorists and an operation is underway,” one of the sources said.
“We took a hit from ISWAP terrorists. They raided the base in Marte after a fierce battle.”
The second source said the army “incurred losses” but it was not yet clear how many people had died or the level of destruction inflicted by the insurgents.
ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, maintains camps on islands in Lake Chad — where Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad meet — and the area is known to be group’s bastion.
SCOOPER reported earlier today that security concerns have mounted over what has been discovered to be a mass movement of Fulani families southwards.
In Oyo State, a meeting of the Yoruba World Assembly held at the Parliament Building on Thursday was informed of Fulani herdsmen trooping into the state from neighbouring countries through Saki East, Saki West and Atisbo local government areas.
Last Saturday, in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, truckloads of Fulani men, women and children were intercepted at the point of their settling in a forest area.
They told locals that they were there as refugees fleeing from bandits ravaging their homes in Niger State.
The scores of the Fulani migrants confessed to local government authorities that they were from Niger State and wanted to settle at the location where they were intercepted.
The Fulani herdsmen and their families arrived in Okunran community in Yagba West Local Government Area of the state at about 12 noon last Saturday when truck conveying them arrived in the forest part of the remote community.
It was gathered that the herdsmen were intercepted by officials of the local government led by the chairman, Mr. Pius Kolawole, in collaboration with locals and security agencies.
A statement last Sunday signed by media assistant to the council chairman, Mr Eniola Olayemi, had alleged that the local government authorities returned over 100 Fulanis in trucks moving to Okunran illegally to settle without a clear mission.
The statement said the council chairman had taken the security of the area seriously since he assumed office and had held series of meetings as regards the invasion of Yagba West by the Fulani herdsmen.
He said the Fulanis were intercepted on Saturday and their loaded truck was escorted out of the local government area with the support of security agencies.
The statement said Yagba West under Kolawole’s leadership “is determined to ensure that security of life and property is actualised to the fullest.”
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