The military, yesterday, extended the curfew in some parts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, to 24 hours, in continuation of the emergency rule imposed on the state alongside Yobe and Adamawa States, on Tuesday, to curb Boko Haram insurgent activities.
The curfew extension came on a day President Goodluck Jonathan told the insurgents to surrender and embrace the amnesty proposed for them by the Federal Government.
Northern governors also warned against civilian casualty in the implementation of the emergency rule in the three north-eastern states.
Reports, yesterday, said residents of a community in Borno State, Marte, were fleeing air strikes by the Nigerian Airforce jets and helicopter gunships on suspected Boko Haram camps.
The spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, listed 12 neighbourhoods in Maiduguri where a 24-hour curfew was being imposed.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) also said troops arrested 65 suspected Boko Haram members trying to enter the Borno State capital after fleeing aerial bombardment elsewhere.
The DHQ insinuated that the insurgents were trying to infiltrate Maiduguri.
The imposition of the curfew in the Borno State capital was said to pave the way for the troops deployed to the state to embark on a house- to- house search, as well as face insurgents still residing within the metropolis and Jere council area.
