Election: Army foils attack, kills 3 insurgents in Borno

The Nigerian Army on Saturday said its troops had killed three Boko Haram insurgents in a coordinated attack at Jidamari community in Jidari-Polo area of Jere Local Government Area of Borno.
In a statement, Col. Sagir Musa, the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, said troops of 251 Task Force Battalion in conjunction with members of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) successfully repelled the attack in the early hours of Saturday.
Musa disclosed that the troops eliminated three Boko Haram terrorists and recovered two AK-47 rifles in the encounter.
However, he said four persons were killed from the insurgents’ gun fire and Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs) blast in the attack.
Musa added that a member of the CJTF was also killed while trying to prevent a suicide bomber from infiltrating into a mosque in the area.
“In the early hours of today (Feb. 16), there was an attack by unconfirmed number of Boko Haram terrorists using Person Borne Improvised Explosive Device (PBIED) at Jidimari community in Jidari Polo area of Jere Local Government Area of Borno State.
“This is in their highly desperate, orchestrated and collaborative resolve with their cohorts and sponsors to scuttle the 2019 General Elections,” the statement read in part.
Musa said that the troops had dominated the area, cordon and search was concurrently ongoing, adding that normalcy had been restored in the area.
The spokesman reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army to rout out remnants of the insurgents and end insurgency in the country.
Musa called on the people to be more alert and provide useful information to security agencies on suspicious movement of persons or items in their communities. (