Despite the successes recorded by the Nigerian military over the past month against the Boko Haram sect, the insurgents today managed to re-capture Marte, a town 112km from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

According to reports, the insurgents who were forced out of Sambisa forest and other camping grounds regrouped in Marte on Friday.

Zannah Mustapha, the deputy governor of Borno state confirmed that Marte had been recaptured by the insurgents on friday.

“It is sad as we have been made to understand that Marte is today completely fallen under the control of the insurgents, which to us is a very huge set back”, Mustapha said.

On Thursday, the Nigerian army imposed a 24-hour curfew on Maiduguri after the insurgents attempted to invade the metropolis on Wednesday.

Intelligence reports after the Wednesday attack in Maiduguri revealed that the insurgents had recruited and kitted about 600 females as suicide bombers to cause havoc in the metropolis.

The Borno state deputy governor, Mr. Mustapha on Friday confirmed that the Islamic insurgents were prepped to unleash terror on the metropolis through the kitted female suicide bombers.

He said “Initially we were opposed to the suggestion made by the military; but when we received a security report that about 600 women have been kitted as suicide bombers and are to be sneaked into Maiduguri during the attack, coupled with the gory pictures of some of the women who detonated themselves during the attack, we had no option than to okay the curfew”.

On Wednesday, three of the females had detonated their bombs at the frontline killing three members of the civilian-JTF while injuring several others.

Mustapha said ““It is unfortunate that we are experiencing yet another attack in Maiduguri at this time that we are thinking that the insurgency should have subsided following the taking over of Sambisa forest by the military”.

“Our thinking was that every other place should have been blocked so that the insurgency would be curtailed to a restricted area. But that has not been the case, because the insurgents have been fleeing to other communities.

Mustapha urged the residents of Maiduguri to the patient with the security agencies inspite of the hardships caused by the 24-hour curfew.