 |
| Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Minimah |
No fewer than 40 people, including five
soldiers and a local hunter, were reported to have been killed following
a bomb explosion on Thursday morning around Mararaba-Mubi area of
Adamawa State.
Eyewitness told newsmen in Yola, the
state capital, that a combined team of the military and local hunters
patrolling the area after they had successful recaptured Mubi from the
insurgents were mostly affected.
It was learnt that the bomb planted by the insurgents exploded and killed the 40 people instantly.
According to the eyewitness, the scene
of the blast was a busy area where people returning to the town after
the recaptured of Mubi gathered to do one business or the other.
The source added that the explosive
might have been planted by members of the Boko Haram on the eve of the
day and it went off while people, including soldiers, gathered in the
morning to strategise on their next line of action.
According to the eyewitness, who spoke
to newsmen on the telephone, the military had converted the venue of the
blast to a checkpoint, since there was always heavy presence of people
at the spot most of the time.
“My house is some metres from the scene
of the incident. I stood outside my compound, watching the suburb. And
all of a sudden, I heard a loud bang which shook the entire
surroundings.
“The few people that were returning to
the area started fleeing and the area was immediately cordoned off by
the military,” he maintained.
The explosion prompted the military
authorities to declare the area “a no go place” and advised returning
villagers and passersby to be extra cautious along the routes.
The authorities also cautioned the
people to be wary of strange objects and polythene bags within their
vicinity, advising that they might be explosives fashioned out to look
attractive for unknown victims.
Meanwhile, hundreds of local hunters
keeping vigil with the military in the recovered areas from the
insurgents in Adamawa State have vowed to ensure that they will chase
the sect members out of the area.
The hunters, who were returning to the
recaptured areas of Mubi and its environs, told newsmen on Thursday in
Yola that their major pre-occupation was to ensure that the area was
completely secured for the inhabitants to return to their homes.
The leader of the hunters, Young Moris,
pledged that they would do all they could to ensure that Michika and
Madagali were rid of the insurgents.
On the constraints faced by the group,
Moris lamented that considering their personal sacrifices to their
motherland, the state government’s gesture was not encouraging,
especially in the area of mobility and feeding.
He advised politicians in the corridors
of power to stop sabotaging the efforts of the government and stop
playing politics with the insurgents.
No comments:
Post a Comment