Army stops 9 terrorists from bombing Maiduguri

The military has foiled a plot by the Boko Haram terrorists to attack Maiduguri, Borno capital, with powerful assault rifles and home-made bombs. The spokesman for the Nigerian army, Colonel Sani Usman, disclosed this in a statement. He said the terrorists, numbering nine, were armed with AK-47 assault rifles and (a) Hilux vehicle laden with 20 improvised explosive devices, which were “meant to be detonated at some selected targets in the city.”  When questioned by the AFP whether the militants were arrested, Usman refused to comment further, but he quipped saying; “We will let you know at the conclusion (of a preliminary investigation) what exactly they wanted to do.” Boko Haram was founded in 2002 in Maiduguri and has been repeatedly targeted during the Islamist militants’ bloody, six-year insurgency. At least 265 people have been killed in a wave of suicide and bomb attacks in the city since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on May 29, vowing the crush the militants.