Residents fleeing Adamawa villages as Boko Haram kill five

Residents are fleeing Madagali villages after Boko Haram insurgents reportedly killed five persons during Thursday attacks.

Since the insurgent’s attack on Shuwa, Duhu and Kaya on Thursday, in which four civilian and a police man were reportedly shot dead, panicked residents have started leaving in droves.

Armed militants, dressed in military uniforms, had invaded Duhu and Shuwa villages on vehicles around 6 pm when Muslims were making preparation to break their fast, killing civilians and burning property until the arrival of soldiers from Gulak to dislodge them.

Tension was again, heightened when news of the presence of Boko Haram elements in surrounding bushes filtered in on Friday, causing more people to abandon their homes for relatively safe towns.

A lady, who had escaped from the insurgents’ captivity few years ago, told Daily Trust on phone that she had already fled to Yola for safety, along with her children.

“Since the recent attacks on our villages, security situation has deteriorated and we felt insecured because there are no soldiers in Duhu. Soldiers are stationed in Gulak and Madagali towns, leaving our communities unprotected”, she said.

Another resident, Sule Mandal said people were selling their foodstuff at low prices to pay transport fares to Mubi and Yola for fear of possible invasion of their villages by the insurgents.

“Boko Haram realised that there is no military presence in the villages, so they keep attacking us because they can escape before soldiers are deployed from Gulak or Madagali towns. They sacked several villages recently. There is need to deploy security in strategic villages and block known Boko Haram routes”, he said.

Daily Trust learnt that food prices have crashed as fleeing residents sell off grains to raise money for trips to safe areas.

The military commander in Madagali, Lt Col. A.S. Ahmadu, who confirmed the Thursday attack, saying the military had successfully repelled the attackers, did not give casualty details when our correspondent contacted him.

Until recent attacks, the affected villages had enjoyed relative peace since liberation of the area from Boko Haram control by the Nigerian military in 2015.