Thousands of residents were said to have fled their homes on Wednesday as suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked Askira town in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
It was learnt that the insurgents stormed the town after the Maghib (sunset) prayer and were shooting sporadically.
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Deputy Speaker, Borno State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Askira, confirmed the attack.
He, however, said the troops battled the insurgents. “No one can ascertain the situation right now, I can confirm that many of our people have fled their homes.
“I was informed that the soldiers are presently engaging them,” he told our correspondent on the telephone.
A member of the Civilian Joint Task Force, Yakubu Saidu, said he was scared by the sudden insurgents’ attack on their town.
“They came at exactly 6:30pm, shooting from all angles, we ran into bushes and others went indoors, they came with about nine gun trucks with anti-aircraft gun.
“Our security formations are doing their best because we could also hear gunshots from their side, but that is not enough, government should do something about our town before they chase all of us away,”Saidu urged.
