The Borno State Government has
reviewed the 24-hour curfew in Maiduguri,
the state capital, and also some
indications have emerged that GSM
networks have been restored in the
troubled state.
The curfew is now to last from 7:00 p.m. to
6:00 a.m.
During a closed-door meeting between
government officials and security agencies
on Tuesday it was decided to review the
curfew, the Secretary to the State
Government, Baba Jidda, said in a statement.
It will be recalled that GSM networks have
been grounded since May when a state of
emergency was declared in Borno.
However, the residents of Maiduguri have
already begun to receive weak signals on
their phones.
The two directives are believed to be part of
the decisions reached to forestall the kind of
attack that occurred in Maiduguri on
Monday morning.
For the first time since the Boko Haram
started their operations in 2010, the group
targeted aircraft; and, according to the
Nigerian military, 'incapacitated', five
Nigerian Airforce aircraft.
The insurgents attacked an Airforce base
and some Army formations, and the
Maiduguri International Airport on Monday.
It was later reported that 24 of the
insurgents had been killed.
The civilian casualty in the attack is yet to be
ascertained. The Monday attack prompted
the 24 hour curfew in Maiduguri.