At least five people were feared dead in an attack Wednesday night by Boko Haram insurgents on Wuna village in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The attack came days after about 50 persons were killed in a similar attack on a Mosque in Mubi town during morning prayer. Sources said scores of fighters stormed the village, a few kilometres from Gulak, the administrative headquarters of Madagali. “They came in numbers and just started shooting sporadically into the air with their guns; and there was pandemonium as people started fleeing for their lives,” a resident said.
“They held sway for almost an hour during which they killed over five people, burning houses, food stuff and carted away domestic animals. Presently, we are hiding somewhere in a nearby village,’’ the resident stated. Another resident said: “They were on the rampage to steal food and medical supplies. Even last two days, they raided a nearby village, Humbli, and many others. There is tension everywhere and people have started fleeing.’’
Confirming the attack, the Chairman of Madagali Local Government Council, Yusuf Muhammad, said the attack lasted for about an hour on Wednesday night. The chairman who could not give the casualty figures however said that the insurgents burnt many houses and looted foodstuff. “They looted foodstuff, killed livestock and burnt the village completely,though for now I am yet to ascertain the number of those killed.” The Nigerian Army is yet to react to the attack. Akintoye Badare, a major and spokesperson of the 28 Task-Force Battalion, Mubi, could not be reached as at the time of filing this report. Confirming the attack, a member of the House of Representatives, Adamu Kamale, said: ‘’President Muhammadu Buhari is being fed with false information on the capacity of Boko Haram in our area as they still carry out deadly strikes.
‘’They have attacked Wuna last night and the recent attacks indicate the group is still able to carry out major attacks and has not been defeated despite the successes achieved by Nigerian soldiers in the war. ‘’The communities in the local governments are a stone’s throw from the boundary of Sambisa Forest, the insurgents’ safe haven from where they launch attacks on us,’’ he noted. Mr. Kamale, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on telephone on Thursday,said while the military continued to make claims of ‘decimating’ the insurgents, the situation in Madagali had been “grossly under-reported” in a series of security reports filed by the military to Mr. Buhari. “The truth remains that the group is still very active in our areas.’’ According to the lawmaker, no week or day passes without “one ugly incident taking place in the border communities.
‘’We want Mr. President to match words with actions because the insurgents are truly killing more people than he is even aware of, particularly in Michika/Madagali local government areas of Adamawa State.”
Source: Premium Times
