Nigeria’s military says 150 killed in Boko Haram clashes in Baga

Nigeria’s military said on Monday that at least 150 people had been killed in clashes with Islamists in the northeastern town of Baga, giving a rare official death toll a few weeks before presidential elections in which security is a big issue. Defense spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade was reacting to reports that some 2,000 had been killed by Boko Haram insurgents who took control of Baga and the surrounding area 10 days ago. The military is fighting to reclaim it. The military has a habit of understating death tolls, while local politicians tend to overstate them.

Terrible atrocities have been committed against innocent Nigerians in Baga by the rampaging terrorists who attacked and have been operating in the town since 3 January.

Major-General Chris Olukolade

The group’s fighters also attacked a military base in the northwest Cameroonian city of Kolofata. Monday’s attack came a day after blasts struck an open market selling mobile handsets in the town of Potiskum in Nigeria’s Yobe state, one of three northeastern states repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram. The radical religious group has killed thousands in a five-year-old rebellion which is seen as the biggest security threat to Africa’s top oil producer and is a headache for Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of what is likely to be a closely fought vote on Feb. 14. A southern Christian, he faces Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim and former military ruler regarded as tough on security.

Africa