News:Nigerian troops kill Boko Haram Second In command, and 17 others

The Defence Headquarters yesterday said that a Boko Haram commander, Momodu Bama, who was said to be the second-in-command to the leader of the sect, Imam Abubakar Shekau and 17 others, had been killed in a shoot-outbetween Special Forces and the insurgents. Besides, 24 members of the sectwere arrested by the troops. Bama was one of the 19 leadersof Boko Haram declared wantedby the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State on November 23, last year. There was no independent confirmation of Bama’s death last night. But it was learnt that the commander’sbody was taken away by the insurgents. According to a statement by theDirector of Information at the Defence Headquarters, Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, Shekau’s deputy was killed along the “Bama corridor”. He was described as an expert inmanning anti-aircraft guns for Boko Haram. The statement said:“As troops intensify pursuit of terrorists, who have been unleashing mayhem in Borno and Yobe communities, the death of Momodu Bama, said to be the second-in-command to the leader of Boko Haram, AbubakarShekau, has been confirmed by other arrested terrorists. “This followed encounters with the terrorists around the Bama corridor. “Momodu Bama has been personally leading the attacks against troops and innocent citizens in the communities of Yobe and Adamawa. “A specialistin manning the anti-aircraft gunsof the group, he is known to be vicious and heartless with a penchant for personally slaughtering and executing his victims. “Momodu Bama has been a most wanted terrorist with a N25million bounty alreadyplaced on his head. “Others that died in the operation include Bama’s father,Alhaji Abatcha Flatari, who is also one of the spiritual guidinglights of the outlawed terrorists group. 17 other terrorists also lost their lives in the encounter while 24 were arrested. “The troops are continuing the pursuit of the terrorists while intensifying aggressive aerial and land patrols to ensure better security cover for the communities, especially in the two states.” Shedding more light on the encounters with Boko Haram members, a top source added: “The second-in-command to Boko Haram leader and 17 others were actually killed between Sunday and Monday inBama corridor. “What happened was that after they attacked Bama town, we launched counter-attacks. It was in the process of trailing them that troops engaged the insurgents in some encounters which led to the death of the 18, including Momodu Bama and hisfather. “We did not even know that Momodu Bama was shot dead in the crossfire until we started interrogating the arrested suspects who confirmed it to us. They gave us sufficient testimony to reach our conclusion.” Asked if the military had retrieved Bama’s body, the source said: “As usual of the sect, they took away the corpse of Momodu Bama.” Bama was one of the 19 leadersof Boko Haram declared wantedby the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State on November 23, 2012. A N25million ransom was placed on him by the JTF. Others were four members of the Shurra Committee of the sect, including, Shekau (N50million); Habibu Yusuf (a.k.aAsalafi) N25million; Khalid Albarnawai( N25million); and Mohammed Zangina (N25million). The Boko Haram Commanders are Abu Saad (N10million); AbbaKaka (N10million); Abdulmalik Bama (N10million) Umar Fulata(N10million); Alhaji Mustapha (Massa) Ibrahim (N10million); Abubakar Suleiman-Habu (a.k.a Khalid) N10million; Hassan Jazair N10million; Ali Jalingo (N10million); Alhaji Musa Modu (N10million); Bashir Aketa (N10million); Abba Goroma(N10million); Ibrahim Bashir (N10million); Abubakar Zakariya (N10million); and Tukur Ahmed Mohammed (N10million). In Maiduguri, JTF also confirmedBama’s killing. JTF spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa told reporters that the person killed by security forces in neighbouring Adamawa Statewas not Momodu Bama as claimed. “It is either the suspect adoptedthe name of Momodu Bama, a popular Boko Haram operation officer and the second-in-command to Shekau, or the task force could not ascertain his real identity. “On the contrary, we killed Bama and his father, Abatcha Flatari, a BokoHaram spiritual leader, on August4 during a counter-insurgency operation at Bama.” He added that “it took over a week to ascertain their identities”.