5th September 2014 Nigeria SITREP

by Fulan Nasrallah

Maiduguri: Reports indicate that soldiers of the Nigerian Army 7 Division (Infantry) headquartered in the metropolis of Maiduguri are evacuating their families out of two important Army bases (Giwa and Maimalari barracks) including the divisional headquarters after letters and fliers from the Boko Haram were dropped off in strategic locations across the metropolis (including at the gates of the bases) announcing the intention of the insurgents to attack and take over the city of over 1.8 million people, the largest and most important urban centre in North East Nigeria.

WarZone South: 4th September 2014, insurgent forces attack and push military forces out of positions around Kawuri Town in Konduga LGA just south of Maiduguri. Residents are said to be rapidly emptying out of the town to Maiduguri and other areas as they fear a repeat of the January 2014 slaughter when insurgents stormed the town overnight and massacred over 80 civilians.

Confirmed: Thousands of insurgent fighters are massing up to the south and east of Maiduguri according to sources on the ground. Aerial reconnaissance conducted by Nigerian AirForce pilots is said to show that more fighters than the insurgents are thought to have (by conventional analysts basing their analyses on faulty Intel) are forming up at suspected stand-up points. Heavy towed artillery, armoured vehicles and Triple-A guns are confirmed to have been sighted.

Last month two Nigerian pilots faced being put before a court martial after they refused to bomb the coordinates of their primary targets (which were Nigerian troops in the field) and headed back to base. On their way back to Maiduguri they overflew more than a thousand insurgent fighters in Toyota pickups and armoured vehicles and heading to an unknown destination. The pilots made the split decision to drop their payloads on the insurgents. As soon as the insurgents saw them coming round to attack they opened fire with 57mm and 23mm Triple-A guns and heavily damaged the AirForce plane while suffering some casualties. The AirForce pilots skillfully brought the plane to base and made a hard landing only for them to be arrested and detained for disobeying orders to strike their primary targets. They were accused by Defence an AirForce Intelligence of lying about the Triple A guns and were facing charges of negligence amongst others. Now subsequent aerial recon missions to the fall of Bama have vindicated their claim.

An agreement brokered by Sheikh Bukar Al-Barnawi on 4th September will see all four factions join forces to attack (invest) and capture Maiduguri . This comes as negotiators from the factions of Sheikh Bukar Al-Barnawi, Sheikh Khalid Al-Barnawi and Abu Usamah Al-Ansori are said to be currently meeting in Gwoza for talks on proposed merger of the three groups into one body.

One source says up to 15,000 fighters may take part in any attack on Maiduguri...

Adamawa: Meanwhile eight of the fifteen aspirants for the ticket of the coming October 11 Governorship Election on the platform of the PDP have stepped down after a marathon meeting with Senate President David Mark at the Presidential Villa in Abuja which lasted till the early hours of Friday 5th September.

Amongst them is Nuhu Ribadu (I personally do not like this man) former anti-corruption czar under the Obasanjo administration and Presidential Candidate of the Action Congress (one of the parties which merged into the All Peoples Congress) during the 2011 Presidential Elections against President Jonathan (he lost woefully to the President and General Buhari and was insignificant during the election).

6th September 2014 Emergency Nigeria SITREP

The town of Gulak in Adamawa State was overrun yesterday evening by insurgent forces according to local media reports. Other reports confirmed that hundreds of insurgent fighters (most probably the recent fresh troops reportedly crossing in from Cameroon days back) in Toyota pickup trucks backed by truck mounted heavy machine guns and over a dozen armoured vehicles stormed the town of Gulak causing over 400 Nigerian troops members of Task Force Mike (Special Operations troops and elements of 3 Division Armoured headquartered at Jos, Plateau State) to flee the town to neighbouring Mubi.

Gulak had previously been designated the principal staging area for the launch of the counter attack to recover Madagali LGA from insurgent control.