Boko Haram: Fighter jets deployed in Yobe
Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade
Boko Haram: Fighter jets deployed in Yobe
Fighter jets have been deployed in
Yobe State as part of the crackdown on Boko Haram insurgents who killed
41 students at the College of Agriculture in Gujba.
The Federal Government has also ordered
the military, the police and other security agencies to protect all
schools in the state.
There are indications that the state government may not close schools following the killings.
The Defence Headquarters has directed
the Air Force and the Artillery Unit of the Army to join forces with the
infantry troops, The Nation learnt.
For the third day running, the troops
have engaged Boko Haram members in a battle in the forests between Yobe
and Borno states, a source said.
The source, who pleaded not to be named,
said: Air raid is a vital component of our manhunt for insurgents still
lurking in some forests in this axis.
“And with the backing of the Artillery Unit, heavy bombardment has been going on in these forests in the last three days.
“So far, we have been able to dislodge
the camps of the insurgents, most of which were just being established
along the Borno-Yobe axis.”
The directive to protect schools covers day and boarding schools.
It was gathered that both the Federal
and Yobe State governments believe that closing schools will amount to
bowing to the wish of the insurgents to stop any form of Western
education in the Northeast.
A government source said: “There are
some suggestions that the schools should be closed in the state again,
but we are not thinking along this line because this might be a
defeatist approach. We know that parents and children may be
disillusioned but we cannot give up to insurgency.
“We are, however, waiting for a
comprehensive security plan from the military and other security
agencies on how to provide adequate security in all schools.
“What we have done is to put all
communities on the alert to notify the military and security agencies of
any suspicious movement.
“The encouragement the state government
is getting from all citizens of the state borders on the need to
cooperate and resist the insurgents.”
Defence spokesman Brig.-Gen. Chris
Olukolade, said: “We have a mandate from the Federal Government to
protect all schools in Yobe State.
“We have mapped out plans to secure the schools and prevent a repeat of this dastardly act.”
On the combing of forests for
insurgents, Gen. Olukolade said: “The operation is still on; we will let
the public know accordingly.”