“You killed civilians, not us”: Boko Haram Tells JTF

:::News in circulation within the past twenty-four
hours has it that members of the Joint Task
Force ( JTF) have killed at least twenty
members of the dreaded Boko Haramsect, with
even more arrested. Other reports even have it
that the number of those killed could be as
high as thirty-one (31).
However, reacting to this news, the members
of the sect have come out with a statement
that those killed by the JTF are indeed civilians
and not terrorists. As far as they were
concerned, not even a member of their sect was around the location where the killings were
carried out.
Spokesman of the sect, Abu Qaqa told a teleconference for journalists in Maiduguri, capital of
Borno state, that his fighters had not been meeting at the place where the military said it
killed them. According to him, “They only succeeded in killing civilians,” Qaqa said. “Twenty
of us cannot risk sitting in a volatile place to hold a meeting … It is not possible.”
However, A security officer said a mixed military and police force, had tipped off about a
Boko Haram meeting on Sunday. When they approached the site, they were shot at and this
led to the attack in which 20 “terrorists” had been killed. One soldier was also lost in the
shootout.
Just a few days ago, the US had advised the Federal Government on the use of tact, rather
than force alone, in dealing with the issue of terrorism in the country.: