With Boko Haram Rampaging, President Jonathan 'Expects' American Help (Leadership, Nigeria)
"Are they
(the United States) not fighting ISIS? Why can't they come to Nigeria? … Look,
they are our friends. If Nigeria has a problem, then I expect the U.S. to come
and assist us." – Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan
A 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Gombe city as a result
of an attempt by Boko Haram insurgents to invade Gombe yesterday. They were
repelled by Nigerian troops.
Mr. Ayuba Aluke, the senior special assistant on media to
the Governor of Gombe State, told LeadershipNewspaper that Governor Ibrahim
Hassan Dankwambo, who was out of the state, has directed that except for
essential services, no movement be permitted until further notice. He adds that
the governor called for calm and assured people of the state that government
troops are on top of the situation and that success over the insurgents is
being achieved.
Residents of villages on the outskirts of Gombe said they
heard heavily-armed terrorists driving about 24 Toyota Hilux vans shout pleas
at the top of their lungs asking people not to flee because they weren't out to
harm them but to confront Nigerian troops. Before arriving in Gombe the
insurgents had attacked the villages of Lubo and Dadinkowa.
As the militants arrived in Gombe, two Air Force jets were
observed dropping bombs on the outskirts of Gombe. A traveler who was trapped
in the bush said he saw more than 24 vans heading towards Gombe filled with the
terrorists.
Posted by Worldmeets.US
"We were driving toward Gombe when we heard shooting
and suddenly we saw young men on dozens of motorcycles all armed with rifles;
some of them sitting on the carrier seat behind the riders were shooting into
the air.
"We were told that they had attacked the towns of Lubo
and Dadinkowa which are located about 32 kilometers [20 miles] from Gombe. We
had to divert through the bush to get to the outskirts of Gombe when we saw a
larger group of Boko Haram in about 24 Hilux trucks driving into the town; in
minutes we began to hear serious shooting. We are now trapped in the
bush."
After a battle that lasted a few hours, Nigerian soldiers
were able to repel the terrorists who fled with dozen of their members'
corpses, witnesses said.
Villagers spotted the insurgents along the route leading out
of Gombe in dozens of vans, some without tires or windscreens, while others
carried bodies of their members killed in the shootout.
A resident of Gombe, Malam Hassan, informed reporters that
villagers along the road to Gombe said the terrorists told them not to panic.
"They were heard telling our people in the villages
leading to Gombe that they didn't come to harm civilians but security
personnel. They were also dropping leaflets with messages written in Hausa warning
people not to participate in the upcoming elections, lest they risk being
killed," said Hassan.
Goodluck Jonathan in
Plead for U.S. Help
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, in an interview with
The
Wall Street Journal has appealed for more U.S. help in fighting Boko
Haram. Jonathan told the newspaper, "Are they (the United States) not
fighting ISIS? Why can't they come to Nigeria? … Look, they are our friends. If
Nigeria has a problem, then I expect the U.S. to come and assist us."
President
Goodluck Jonathan Wants U.S. Troops to Fight Boko Haram (The Wall Street
Journal, U.S.)
Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said however that
there are no plans to send U.S. troops to Nigeria.
"I can tell you that there are no plans as I speak here
to send unilaterally, to send or to add U.S. troops into Nigeria. There are no
U.S. troops operating in Nigeria," he told reporters.
Kirby did said the United States was in the early phases of
helping establish a multi-national task force of African nations to help
Nigeria defeat Boko Haram.
