Boko Haram plans to use beggars for attacks in Nigeria

The Nigerian Army on Friday alerted residents of restive northeast Borno State on a planned attack by Boko Haram terrorists using beggars and other strategies.

Spokesperson for the military special operation against insurgency, Col. Mustapha Anka, made this known in a statement reaching Xinhua in Maiduguri, the state capital.

Under the plan, concealed explosives in bundles of firewood are to be placed in crowded and strategic areas of Maiduguri and environs to cause havoc, Anka said.

According to him, the terrorists had also devised a new means of attracting the public by shouting Boko Haram to create panic.

He said the general public should be weary of a terrorists plan to deceive the public by way of shouting Boko Haram to create panic in order to lure unsuspecting public for maximum casualty while detonating their bombs during and after the new year celebrations.

Anka reminded the public to be extra vigilant during and after the new year celebrations as the ban on knockout and fireworks is still in force.

Meanwhile, the state government had announced total restriction on vehicular movement during the new year celebration on Friday.

Boko Haram, a militant group, which has since 2009 waged a campaign of violence in Nigeria in an effort to establish an Islamic state, is suspected to be responsible for these series of blasts. It has killed some 13,000 people and kidnapped hundreds, with surrounding countries such as Niger, Chad and Cameroon affected.

Source: XINHUA