JTF Extends Curfew In Parts Of Maiduguri

SAN FRANCISCO, April 03, (THEWILL) – The Joint military Task Force (JTF) in Borno State, Operation Restore Order, has extended the curfew imposed on some parts of Maiduguri, the state capital, by three hours.

With the extension, the period of the curfew has been moved up to between 6pm-6am in Jiddari-Polo area, an outskirts of Maiduguri, from the 9pm-6am in other parts of the town.

Announcing the extension, JTF spokesman , Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, said in a statement: "Officially, curfew starts by 9pm to 6am. However, a local commander in charge of an area, on reasonably ground, may decide to enforce it even before 9 pm.

"The decision to enforce curfew as at 6 pm in Jiddari – Polo area arose from the killing of three people at about 3am on Wednesday, 23 January, 2013 by suspected Boko Haram terrorists and since that time the decision has paid off as the killings in that area has drastically reduced.

"We said it many times that JTF will not condone or encourage unprofessional conduct/ indiscipline and where it happens, we’ll immediately apply sanction accordingly."

In a related development, the JTF spokesman said a patrol team of the task force on a routine patrol recently observed an unusual movement at Ruwan – Zafi area close to Customs General area in Maiduguri metropolis and consequently evolved a snap cordon and search operation.

Musa, who disclosed this in a statement, said the operation led to the recovery of 10 brand new motorcycles and four new motorcycles engines wrapped in cartons. He said investigations revealed that the items were stolen and hurriedly moved to a store on sighting JTF troops’ movement in the area.

The JTF spokesman said the stolen items, which had since been handed over to the owner, were eventually identified through investigation and traced to a person whose name is being withheld for security reason.