.PDP raises alarm over insecurity, intimidation in Ebonyi
Five Nigerian soldiers were killed when Islamic State-aligned jihadists ambushed a military convoy and more than 30 civilians were also kidnapped in another attack, military sources said on Sunday
The military convoy was hit in northeast Borno state on Saturday, and militants also attacked a transport convoy in the same region a day before, abducting 35 people and killing one woman.
Nigeria’s Boko Haram and a splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million as part of a decade-long conflict.
Saturday’s attack on the military convoy took place outside of Mafa, 44 kilometres (27 miles) north of the regional capital Maiduguri.
“The terrorists fired an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) on the convoy which hit one of the vehicles with five soldiers in it,” one security source said.
“All the five were killed.”
The insurgents seized two vehicles in the attack, said a second source who gave the same toll.
ISWAP split from the mainstream Boko Haram six years ago and rose to become a dominant group.
A woman was shot dead and several others were injured when the militants opened fire on those fleeing into the bush, he said.
Jakana, which lies along the 120-kilometre highway linking Maiduguri and Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe state, is an ISWAP stronghold.
Abductions of civilians by the jihadists in the area have been on the rise, prompting increased military deployments which have failed to end the abductions.
.Woman, her 6 children killed, others missing in fresh Kaduna attack
A woman and her six children have reportedly been killed by unidentified gunmen on Saturday during an attack on Kauru and Lere local government areas of Kaduna State.
Others were said to have sustained injuries and were declared missing.
The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement, alleged that the attacks were a reprisal following the Thursday attack on Gora Gan in Zangon Kataf local government area resulting in the loss of seven lives and the burning of 13 houses and two shops.
The statement explained that the information regarding the attacks in Kauru and Lere local government areas were passed on to the government by the military and the police.
It explained that aggrieved youths carried out the attacks as a result of the killing of seven persons at Zangon Kataf.
It said seven herders were killed in the counter-attack at Ungwan ldi and Kasheku villages of Kauru local government area while two herders were injured at Ningi village of Lere local government area.
The statement gave the names of those killed at Ungwan ldi and Kasheku villages in Kauru local government area as Mustapha Haruna (one year old), Ya’u Kada (one), Sa’idu Abdullahi (one), Zainab Zakari (one), Sadiya Abdullahi (five), Aisha Abdullahi (one), and one unidentified woman burnt beyond recognition.
It further explained that five persons were declared missing, while six houses were razed during the attacks.
It said the two wounded in Kauru reprisal and are receiving treatment at Ungwan ldi clinic are Aisha Mohammed (20) and Sadiya Abdullahi (25).
In Lere local government area, the Commissioner noted that the two herders injured at Ningi village are Bingel Odi (31) and seven-year-old Isa Joda, stressing that they are currently receiving treatment at General hospital, Saminaka.
The statement quoted Governor Nasir El-Rufai as condemning the counter-attacks.
Gov. El-Rufai commiserated with families of those who lost their loved ones during the unfortunate attacks.
