A fresh attempt by Boko Haram terrorists to attack University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in the capital of troubled Borno State was yesterday aborted by gallant troops who forced them to abandon their evil mission.

Reports from the area said the terrorists had already reached Malari on the Maiduguri-Bama road, 18 kilometres east of UNIMAID, when the attention of soldiers at the UNIMAID gates and Dalori military post was drawn to the approaching danger. The battle-ready troops immediately went on the offensive, raining bullets and grenades in the direction of the terrorists, who were forced to flee.

By that time, however, the terrorists had already caused much havoc in the village, shooting dead six residents as well as torching several houses and a primary school with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and petrol-bombs.

Giving an account of what happened, the Joint Information Centre, Counter Terrorism Campaign Northeast Nigeria,dismissed reports that there the terrorists successfully attacked any part of Maiduguri, saying in a statement issued yesterday from the Defence Headquarters in Abuja: “There was no attack on Maiduguri metropolis as widely reported this morning by some media outlets especially a foreign television channel. Rather, on receiving distress call, troops at about 2am this morning launched a counter attack using mainly mortar shells on a group of terrorists who had attacked and killed four persons in Margimari village and other settlements in the outskirts of Maiduguri.There was no fighting or attack around the University or any barrack in Maiduguri either, as reported.”

The statement also disclosed that “a Chadian, Usman Mecheka operating with the terrorists group around Lake Chad has been taken into custody by the Multi National Joint Task Force.He was apprehended by the Task Force while trying to extract a ransom from herdsmen and farmers in the area, after an earlier attack on the community.”

•Photo shows Boko Haram fighters.