Some suspected members of Boko Haram have allegedly hoisted their flag in some parts of Marte Local Government Area of Nigeria’s Borno State.
Military sources told Channels Television that the insurgents attacked the local government area within the week and neighbouring Dikwa Local Government Area on Friday, February 19.
The Boko Haram insurgents were, however, repelled in Dikwa by a combined effort of the air component and ground forces of Operation Lafiya Dole in a battle that lasted hours.
It was gathered that the attack dislodged many residents of Dikwa who fled into bushes to take refuge.
The insurgents also laid an ambush for the reinforcements deployed from the theatre command headquarters located in Maiduguri.
While the casualty figure for the attack is still unknown, it is however coming barely two months after the Borno state government resettled 500 households in New Marte. Some soldiers injured from Marte have since been evacuated to Maiduguri where they are currently being treated.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Army has allegedly overrun a farm owned by Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau in its latest offensive against the terrorists at Dikwa town on Friday, February 19.
A video circulated online showed that the troops storming the farm within the Sambisa axis while some locals were invited to help themselves with edibles before destroying the farm.
The Sambisa forest is located at the northeastern tip of the west Sudanian Savanna and the southern boundary of the Sahel Acacia Savanna about 60 km south east of Maiduguri, the capital of the state of Borno State.
The climate is hot and semi-arid, with minimum temperatures of about 21.5 °C between December and February, a maximum of about 48 °C in May and average temperatures of about 28-29 °C.
The dry season is from November to May and the wet season is between May and September/October with annual rainfall of about 190 mm.
The troops could be heard mocking the sect leader and asking him to come out from hiding.
From the video, the time of the incident is, however, unknown, and there had been no official comment on it as at the time of filing this story.