A bomb explosion scene
Daji Sani in Yola
Daji Sani in Yola
Once again, insurgents suspected to be members of Boko Haram struck on
Thursday at Maraban Mubi area of Adamawa State where they killed 35
persons following a roadside bomb explosion.
An eyewitness said the bomb was planted by the insurgents to ambush
local hunters and military personnel who had been detailed to fortify
Mubi town from further attacks by the insurgents.
He said the explosion was timed by the perpetrators so it could blow up
the hunters and military personnel, who had arrived at the scene.
The accuracy of the attack resulted in the death of five military personnel and a local hunter on the spot.
It raised fears over access to intelligence by Nigerian troops.
According to the eyewitness, the scene of the blast is a busy area
where people returning to the town after the recapture of Mubi gather to
conduct business transactions.
A resident of the area, Mallam Usman said the explosive may have been
planted by members of the Boko Haram on the day before the blast
occurred, adding that the perpetrators knew that the spot was where the
soldiers and the hunters usually gather in the morning to strategise on
their next line of action.
According to him, the military had also converted the spot where the
explosive went off to a checkpoint, since there is usually heavy human
and vehicular traffic at the location most of the time.
“My house is some meters from the scene of the incident. I stood
outside my compound watching the suburb, then all of a sudden, I heard a
loud bang which shook the entire surroundings.
“The few people who were returning to the area started fleeing and it was immediately cordoned off by the military,” he said.
The explosion also prompted the military authorities to declare the
vicinity a “no go area” and advised returning villagers and passersby to
be extra cautious along the route.
The authorities further cautioned residents to be wary of strange
objects and polythene bags within their reach, warning that they might
be explosives fashioned out to look attractive to uninformed victims.
Meanwhile, hundreds of local hunters keeping vigil with the military in
the recovered areas of Adamawa State have vowed to ensure that the
sect’s members are completely chased out or eliminated.
The hunters, who were returning to the recaptured areas of Mubi and its
environs, told reporters yesterday in Yola that their main
pre-occupation was to ensure that the area is completely secured for
inhabitants to return to their homes.
The leader of the hunters, Young Moris pledged that they will do all
they could to ensure that Michika and Madagali are equally cleared of
the insurgents soonest.
On the constraints faced by the group Moris said despite their personal
sacrifices for their motherland, the state government’s gesture had not
been encouraging, especially in the area of mobility and feeding, and
advised politicians to stop sabotaging the efforts of government and
playing politics with the insurgency.
SOURCE; THISDAY LIVE NEWS
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