Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have attacked Buratai village burning houses and killing people in the home of Nigeria’s new Chief of Army Chief,Major General Tukur Buratai.
Reports said several houses were burnt in the merciless attack in which at least two people were killed. “I learnt they burnt down almost half of the village”,a source told Newsdiaryonline.But we could not verify this claim independently.
However, Reuters reported that “Suspected Boko Haram militants burned down houses, including the family home of Nigeria’s new army chief, in a village in the northeast of the country on Tuesday”. Two people were killed while at least 8 others were injured during the attack on Buratai,the report said.
There has been no official statement yet on the attack.But observers recalled that that targeting the home of service chiefs who taunt them appears to be the stock- in- trade of Boko Haram.
In the heat of attacks on Adamawa state, the home town of the former chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshall Alex Badeh was reportedly attacked by the insurgents.There were reports that the ex service chief evacuated his family ,but the report was debunked as untrue.Observers said Badeh may have been targeted by the terrorists because he had initially issued a deadline within which he said Boko Haram will be crushed.The Defence headquarters later clarified the defence chief’s statement regarding alleged deadline.
Buratai has,expectedly, also been talking tough ,vowing to ensure the defeat of Boko Haram.His most dramatic measure so far was the recent renaming of the military outfit from Operation Zaman Lafiya in Borno to Operation Lafiya Dole;implying a resolve to enforce peace.
“Perhaps our military chiefs should stop taunting Boko Haram openly because it appears they have the resources to always strike when taunted.The best approach should be to engage them on the ground for Nigerians to see result swiftly”, a military observer told Newsdiaryonline .
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his resolve to defeat Boko Haram.He has also changed the service chief in what may be a pointer to a strategic shift in the battle against the insurgents.
