Crime
Residents flee as Boko Haram raid Yobe community
Residents of Babbangida community in Yobe state have been forced to flee from their homes following a deadly attack by Boko Haram fighters on Sunday.
The latest attack by the insurgents in the Northeastern state comes barely one month after a deadly attack by the the Islamic extremists on the village.
The Yobe state government is yet to confirm the attack.
A resident who eitnessed the attack revealed to newsmen that there was a heavy gun battle between the military and the suspected Boko Haram members.
Babbangida, which is situated 50km away from Damaturu the state capital, was last attacked on August 25, 2021.
The military had recovered a Toyota Hilux vehicle from the assailants after the attack.
Sunday’s attack is the latest in the string of attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram fighters who have continued to plague the Northeast despite calls by some elite to grant them blanket amnesty.
Among the villages that have been ransacked in recent times is Geidam, the hometown of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali.
The Islamic extremists are known for hoisting their flags in any community they successfully overrun.
Yobe state, a Northeastern state has suffered greatly at the hands of terrorists. Telecommunication facilities and other government infrastructure have been reportedly attacked and destroyed in recent times.
However, despite the unending killings of citizens by Boko Haram terrorists, the Nigerian military has continued to assure Nigerians that it is winning the war against insurgency in the Northeast.
According to the Nigerian Army, due to sustained onslaughts from troops, the insurgents are surrendering and embracing amnesty.
In August, the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu said the Chief Bomb Expert of the terrorist group known as Musa Adamu a.k.a Mala Musa Abuja and his second in command, Usman Adamu a.k.a Abu Darda along with their families and followers, surrendered to the troops in Bama Local Government Area of the state.
He put the number of the surrendered insurgents at 335 fighters, 746 women and children including one of the abducted Chibok girls.
The calls for amnesty to the surrendered terrorists have also drawn widespread criticisms to many quarters.
Critics say the move may further embolden criminals, insisting that those displaced by the decade-long war should first be resettled.
“The first step after getting them is the resettlement of people now that the war is getting to an end or is almost ending,” Senator Ali Ndume from Borno South told Channels Television in August.
“Then, we talk about profiling, investigating, and interrogating those that have surrendered, ” the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, added.
