Over 60 killed as military moves to retake Mubi

                      











 
Elite anti-riot mobile policemen have joined the battle to flush out the insurgents, who took over Mubi about two weeks ago.
A resident, Mallam Bello Idi, who fled Mubi as a result of the military offensive to reclaim the town, said scores of insurgents have been killed, while several others have surrendered.
According to him, several residents who remained in the town were prevented from leaving by the sect.
According to Bello, the real motive of the sect in denying the residents from fleeing was to use them as buffer against heavy bombardment, adding that several people have been caught in the crossfire.
“I saw as much as over sixty bodies on my way out of the town. What I witnessed was horrific; anybody still left in Mubi is in serious danger. Many of the insurgents themselves have been forced to retreat into the town from the outskirts as the military advance into the town,” Bello said.
Some of the sect members, fleeing the offensive were alleged to have swooped on some villagers in Makira, on the outskirts of Mubi, setting ablaze the local church and killing two villagers.
The villagers, according to a local vigilante, overpowered and killed three of the insurgents. A combined team of mobile policemen and a detachment of soldiers stationed in Hong were said to have quickly responded and repelled the attackers. In a related development, another top military officer was alleged to have been arrested by the military in Yola for sabotaging the current war against insurgents.
The military officer was said to have been whisked away from the battle front to the barracks for further investigations, following the discovery of several billions of bank transactions linked to him.
He was also believed to be providing the sect with vital information about movement of arms and other tactical moves.
Meanwhile, a new Boko Haram video obtained yesterday shows sect members on an armoured vehicle parading down a road in an unidentified town they apparently control and the group’s leader Abubakar Shekau preaching to locals.
It was not possible to tell whether the footage was staged for propaganda purposes, especially scenes of residents cheering the Islamist fighters.
The message appeared to be aimed at reinforcing Shekau’s claim that he has created a caliphate within Nigeria.
In the 44-minute video, Boko Haram voices support for other so-called caliphates, including the one proclaimed in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State (IS) group.
Shekau, who is pictured in closeup shots with rare clarity, again dismisses government claims about ceasefire talks.
The video, which was delivered through the same channels as past messages, shows armed men lined along a wellpaved road, with three pick-up trucks bristling with heavy weapons also visible.
Black, crested flags associated with the Islamist group are also shown.
Later, an armoured vehicle rolls down the road lined with both fighters and individuals who appear to be residents.
Boko Haram has released series of videos showing similar military hardware, equipment it says was stolen from the Nigerian military.
No women or girls were seen on the street or anywhere else in the footage.
Most of the message is taken up by a sermon from Shekau, delivered indoors but apparently played on a speaker to locals assembled outside.
“We have indeed established an Islamic caliphate,” he said, restating a claim he first made in August.
The images of the sermon include unusually clear closeups of the militant leader.
Shekau has previously expressed solidarity with other jihadi groups and leaders.
In the latest video, he seemed to associate territory under his control with a wider, global caliphate, but did not submit to the authority of any other jihadi leader.
“To everyone living in Islamic Caliphate, we convey our greetings,” he said, specifically mentioning “brethren” in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Shishan (an Islamist term for Chechnya), Yemen, Somalia and “the Caliphate in Iraq and Syria.”
A graphic shown later includes a picture of the IS group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as well as a portion of the message his group issued on July 1 proclaiming a caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
The Federal Government maintains that it is still negotiating with Boko Haram envoys in Chad and that a disputed October 17 ceasefire declaration remains viable