Barely a week after Boko Haram suffered a major setback in clashes with Nigerian troops in North-East Borno, losing over a hundred of its fighters, the insurgents have again regrouped with the aim of launching massive attack on Maiduguri during the Muslim Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

A security source told Sunday Sun weekend that Boko Haram planned coordinated attacks on Maiduguri with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) after several failed attempts to make an inroad into the state capital where many of its members were either apprehended or chased out since June 2013.

“We may have succeeded in tracking down some of the terrorists and frustrating their moves especially with the successes recorded in Konduga by our troops but intelligence has shown the terrorists aren’t giving up. In fact, they are regrouping to launch more attacks especially in Maiduguri,” the source, a senior military officer hinted.

Some residents of Maiduguri also claimed the insurgents were sighted midweek near a settlement at Abadam Local Government in the northern part of the state. They claimed they saw some Boko Haram men in three Hilux vehicles with guns mounted on them moving in the bush.

Residents of Maiduguri said they were yet to ascertain why the insurgency in the state and the neighbouring Adamawa and Yobe states had continued unabated despite the killing of Boko Haram men by security forces in battles.

Mustapha Kaga, who has been following the five-year insurgency offers a clue: “Boko Haram usually conscripts young men and boys during attacks on towns and villages. They did the same thing when they came to attack a Kaga community recently. As many of them were killed during attacks, they will still bring more from those they have kidnapped to fight for them,” Kaga, a youth vigilante told Sunday Sun.

Already, the military has intensified security measures including surveillances and patrols during the Muslims celebration as more troops were deployed in major roads and public buildings in the state. The stop, search and checks hitherto left in the hands of youth volunteers had been taken over by soldiers in most parts of the capital since last Thursday. Residents observed their Sallah under heavy security. Military jets also hovered around the capital on Saturday on surveillance.

The military also announced a four-day ban on vehicular movements throughout the Eid-el-Kabir celebration commencing Friday evening till Monday.

Also in Yobe, authorities equally banned the movement of vehicles into and out of the state since Thursday evening as hundreds of travellers passing through the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway to other parts of the country were prevented from entering the state. Yobe State government through its Commissioner of Information, Alhaji Goni Fika, said the decision was taken by the government with security agencies in the state as a measure to ensure hitch-free sallah celebration in the area.

•Credit: Sunday Sun. Photo shows Boko Haram fighters.

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