Witness: Terrorists who attacked Zuma checkpoint drove gulf car to the scene

A resident of Madalla in Niger State, who witnessed the attack at a military checkpoint at Zuma, has said the invaders drove a gulf car to the scene.

Madalla town is few meters away from Zuma, where a checkpoint along the Abuja-Kaduna highway was attacked on Thursday night.

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Daily Trust had reported how suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked the checkpoint. Details of the attack are still not clear, but a military source later told this newspaper that one soldier was killed in the incident while two others sustained injuries.

However, there is another report that three soldiers lost their lives in the attack, while one is yet to be accounted for.

A Madalla resident, who simply gave his name as Muhammed, said, “I was standing opposite a U-turn with a friend who I wanted to bid farewell when a gulf car passed behind us and parked a few meters from the check point. Occupants of the vehicle which arrived from Zuba axis alighted, and marched towards the military checkpoint.

“The next thing we heard were gunshots. We left the scene immediately while a soldier in mufti ran toward us, shouting, go, go.”

Another source said the attackers spent about 30 minutes, shooting at their targets before the arrival of a security reinforcement team about twenty minutes after they had left.

The source said that the first security men to respond were the police Special force from a nearby barracks, adding that they were later joined by soldiers from Zuma barracks, which is also along the Abuja-Kaduna highway.

“The security men took over the control and restored calm,” the source said.

There was gridlock after the attack as motorists abandoned their vehicles and fled in different directions during the gunfire exchange.

Normalcy has since been restored to the area. On Friday morning, additional soldiers manned the checkpoint.