WUNRN
http://allafrica.com/stories/201503200133.html
Nigeria: Final Onslaught - Boko Haram Killing 'Wives' to Prevent
Marriage to 'Unbelievers'
By
Chika Otuchikere, George Agba, Kareem Haruna, Tunde Oguntola with Agency Report
– 20 March 2015
Boko Haram insurgents in the town of Bama, Borno State, have slaughtered
their wives as Nigerian soldiers continue to rout them in the North East. Some
of them later moved to Gwoza, another Borno town, where they vowed to defend
the capital of their so-called Islamic Caliphate with the last drop of their
blood, the Agency France Presse (AFP) reports.
Witnesses who recounted the massacres said that the insurgents
feared they would be killed by advancing soldiers or separated from their wives
when they flee the town.
"Consequently, they killed their wives so that the women
would not get remarried to unbelievers if their husbands die in the fierce
battles with Nigerian soldiers," said a witness who had just arrived in
Maiduguri from Bama, a major battlefront in the continuing military operations
to dislodge the insurgents from Yobe, Adamawa and Borno.
According to the report, the insurgents told their ill-fated
wives: "We will not spare anyone of you because if unbelievers marry you,
when we get to heaven, there is no way we can meet again. So we are doing this
so that we can meet in heaven."
The terrorists said they would not allow their wives to be
married to 'infidels', the report said.
Nigeria's military, along with forces from neighbouring
Cameroon, Chad and Niger, have claimed huge victories over the insurgents in
recent weeks but defenceless civilians still face serious threats.
Boko Haram fighters have received word of a military assault on
Bama, formerly an Islamist stronghold in Borno State.
The insurgents had decided to flee to the nearby town of Gwoza
before the troops' arrival but they first decided to kill their wives so that
nobody would remarry them.
Boko Haram forcibly married scores of women in Bama after
seizing it in September. Nigeria's military announced the recapture of the town
on Monday.
Witnesses who were taken under military protection this week to
Borno's capital, Maiduguri, 73 kilometres (45 miles) away, said the killing of
women began 10 days before Bama was liberated.
The Islamists said if they kill their wives, "they would
remain pious until both of them meet again in heaven, where they would
re-unite," said Salma Mahmud, another witness.
"He informed them of the situation and the consequence of
the takeover of the town by the advancing troops. He warned them that when
soldiers killed them, they would take their wives back to the society where
they would be forced to marry and live with infidels. The commander said it
would be better for them to kill their wives and send them to heaven," the
mother-of-seven said.
A number of women were shot dead in front of the commander's
house, the report said.
Nigeria's national security spokesman, Mike Omeri, told AFP he
would try to verify the reports while the military could not immediately be
reached for comment.
Boko
Haram regroups, return to liberated towns
Diehard members of Boko Haram in Borno State have allegedly been
regrouping in the last few days even as they have returned to the border town
of Gamboru-Ngala where they have killed at least 11 persons, security sources
said.
A soldier, who confirmed this to newsmen in Maiduguri but
pleaded for anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to press, said the
gunmen attacked Gamboru town in the evening of Wednesday.
"We heard some Boko Haram returned to Gamboru and attacked
the place", said the soldier. "The insurgents, according to the
information, killed about 11 people who just returned from Fotokol, a
neighbouring Cameroonian town about three kilometres away", the source
added.
Jonathan
In Yobe, Promises To Crush Boko Haram Completely
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday in Damaturu, the Yobe
State capital, assured the people of the North East that the federal government
was committed to completely wiping out the Boko Haram sect from both the zone
and the entire country.
The president, who was in the state for the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) presidential campaign rally, stated that the country was yet to be
completely rid of the insurgents because some of them live among the people.
Speaking earlier when the PDP campaign train paid a courtesy
visit to the emir of Damaturu, Alhaji Shehu Hashemu II, Jonathan condoled with
the people of Yobe and families that lost relations to the insurgency.
He said, "We are not yet completely saved from the hands of
these criminal elements because some of them are living with us. They can sneak
in and with their improvised explosive devices cause damage, especially at soft
targets, but we are working day and night, both the security services and the
intelligence services, to make sure that we continue to clean our country until
we get this Boko Haram menace behind us."
"Fortunately we are here today. So, thank you for the
patience and thank you for the reception. For me, I am a member of the emirate
council as a title holder; I am in my palace", he stated.
The president told the royal father and the people of Yobe State
that PDP meant well for Nigeria country, adding that for the past four years,
as a government the party had done well and was willing to do even more if
re-elected.
Later at the conclusion of his presidential campaign rally in
the 36 states of the federation, which took place at the Yobe Township stadium,
Jonathan declared that the federal government will not allow the Boko Haram
sect to take over any territory in Yobe State again.
On his part, the Emir of Damaturu thanked President Jonathan for
siting a federal university in Gashua, for his good leadership and for waging a
successful war against terrorism.
Scores
Of Corpses Found Inside Bama Wells
A security source close to the military contingent which
recaptured Bama Town in Borno State has revealed that troops found scores of
dead bodies in Bama Wells.
According to the source, the recapture of Bama has led to the
discovery of horrendous atrocities perpetrated by terrorists while they held
the town, and as they fled.
"A large number of dead bodies were discovered in wells,
apparently of some of their hostages or those who resisted them," the
source said.
Aside victims whose bodies were thrown into wells, others were
also said to have been executed on the River Bama Bridge as the terrorists fled
the town. Civilians cooperating with troops were said to have also narrated
horrendous tales of the brutality of the terrorists while they held sway,
executing their own version of religious jurisprudence.