Baga Killings: Investigations underway

A sweeping and independent investigation by Nigeria's human rights commision is underway into last week's deaths in Baga community of Borno state where several residents were killed in a deadly confrontation between government troops and members of the extremist sect, Boko Haram.

Although a government establishment, the National Human Rights Commission, headed by Chidi Odinkalu, has a special autonomy to conduct independent probes into crimes as it deems necessary, and if needed, establish a commission of inquiry, fully independent of the government.

Mr. Odinkalu said on Monday the commission was reaching to its wide powers to unlock the truth behind a series of conflicting details of how many civilians were killed in the bloody battle in Baga, a scene of what many widely called a massacre that has alarmed the world and has put the federal government's crackdown on the deadly sect on the spotlight.

228 People Killed And Over 4000 Houses Burnt In Baga – Senator Lawan

A Borno state Senator, Maina Lawan, on Saturday revealed that the actual death toll in the clash between soldiers and Boko Haram is 228, while over 4,000 houses were also burnt down.

Baga is the birth place of Senator Lawan who represents Baga and other towns in Borno north in the Nigerian senate.The villagers had told the state governor and journalists, two days after the incident, that they buried 185 people after the clash, a figure disputed by the Nigerian army.Mr. Lawan, a former governor of Borno state, expressed fears of an epidemic if the federal government does not immediately deploy more rescue and humanitarian aid workers to assist the displaced people.

According to Senator Lawan, at one of the three graveyards called Makabartar Waya, 130 graves of victims were counted.In another graveyard called Makabartar Arewa, 60 graves were counted, then in Budumari graveyard another 30 graves of victims were counted, while inside the town, the aid agencies said they buried eight corpses which could not be evacuated to the graveyards.

There have been conflicting death tolls from the April 19 operation carried out by joint forces from Nigeria, Chad and Niger against Boko Haram insurgents in the remote town of Baga.The Red Cross is investigating a report by locals that 187 people died, including many civilians, but defense spokesman Chris Olukolade said only 37 were killed.

Nigeria, the land of comedy. I bet we would never know the truth

37 Not 185 Died In Baga Clash, We Were Never Unprofessional – Army

Contrary to reports that 185 people died as a result of last weekend’s clash between the operatives of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) and members of the radical sect, Boko Haram in Baga town of Borno State, the military says not more than 37 were killed in that incidence.

A statement issued on Tuesday and also made available by the commander of the MJTF, Brig. Gen. Austin Edokpaye to newsmen in Maiduguri gave the breakdown of the casualties as 30 members of the Boko Haram insurgents, six civilians caught up in the crossfire and one soldier.

He also disclosed that five of the insurgents who attacked his men during the deadly clash have been arrested and are awaiting interrogation.

The statement claimed that the soldiers exercised restraint for so long under intense provocation from the sect as the two-day clash was highly provoked by the insurgents.

The Commander said one of such provocations was the beheading of one of his soldiers in the town by the terrorists who took cover in the community after the dastardly act.

He also maintained that at another time soldiers were ambushed by the insurgents and that a soldier was killed and the terrorists were shielded by the members of the community.

Hmmmmmmm! Let the counter accusations and denials begin. We shall know the truth soon enough

Nigeria to Probe Clash With Islamist Militants

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday ordered a "full-scale" investigation to determine whether the military fully complied with established rules of engagement during weekend fighting in the town of Baga, in Borno state.

The Nigerian Red Cross said Monday that at least 187 people were killed, while another 77 were being treated for injuries. At least 300 homes were also set ablaze in the town which lies on the coast of Lake Chad.

Locals say the clashes began Friday when troops surrounded a mosque that allegedly was sheltering members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram.

A shootout ensued, with militants using heavy weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades. Soldiers and local officials say the militants used civilians as human shields, while residents say soldiers deliberately set fires during the attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday expressed "shock and sadness" at the high number of civilian casualties.

Authorities blame Boko Haram for dozens of deadly bombings and shootings in northern Nigeria since 2009. Human Rights Watch says Boko Haram-related violence has killed 3,000 people, a toll that includes killings by security forces.

I am guessing that the president's order is some kind of facade. He cannot deny knowledge of the Baga onslaught.

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, center, visits injured victims of heavy fighting at a hospital in Baga, Nigeria,

Nigeria: Dozens’ killed in Nigeria gun battles between Military and Militants

Dozens of people have been killed in fierce clashes between Nigeria’s military and suspected  Insurgents, with a massive blaze that followed the fighting leaving nearly half the town destroyed, government and rescue sources told AFP on Monday.

Gun battles broke out in the remote northeastern town of Baga on Friday after troops surrounded a mosque allegedly housing Islamist insurgents.The town on Lake Chad lies in Borno state, the home base of Boko Haram Islamists who are blamed for carrying out scores of attacks across northern and central Nigeria since 2009.

The fighting “killed dozens of people”, said a state government official who refused to be named.Various officials contacted by AFP have been reluctant to discuss the scale of the violence, saying only the military was authorised to provide casualty figures.A rescue official with contacts in Baga told AFP that “many residents are still unaccounted…It is assumed that they fled into the bush”.

“From information reaching us from Baga, 40 percent of the town has been gutted by fire,” added the official who asked not to be named.Borno state military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa told AFP that media reports that some 180 people could have died in the clashes were “extensively inflated”.“There could have been some casualties, but it is unthinkable to say that 185 people died,” Musa said.“On my honour as an officer, nothing like that happened,” he added.Musa, as well as the defence and army spokesmen have refused to provide details of the fighting.

Red Cross spokesman Nwakpa O. Nwakpa told AFP that a significant attack occurred, but said, “we really don’t know yet how many people died”.

Mobile phone network coverage in some parts of Borno was crippled last year after Boko Haram burned down a series of telecommunication masts.Baga is more than 150 kilometres (95 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, a precarious drive on poor roads in a region hit by waves of violence.

Boko Haram has used Maiduguri as a base for its insurgency, but scores of militants have reportedly fled to more remote corners of the state following a crackdown by security forces in the city.