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Boko Haram Nears Abuja: In a brazen attack, 100 kilometers from Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, Boko Haram terrorists sacked 50 communities in Niger State and hoisted their flag in Kaure village.
Niger State Governor Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, who confirmed the operation of Boko Haram terrorists in the state, said the group had hoisted its flag in Kaure, one of the 50 villages deserted as a result of several attacks by bandits.’
Early this year, a video was in circulation in which Boko Haram terrorists claimed they were entrenched in Niger State.
Governor Sani Bello warned that the Boko Haram terrorists were trying to make Kaure their headquarters as they made Sambisa forest their base in northeast.
While expressing concern over the implication of the development to national security, the governor said, “while Sambisa forest is several. kilometers away from Abuja, Kaure is only two hours’ drive to Abuja”.
He said the group had been making a gradual incursion into more than 50 villages in the past three weeks, forcing the villagers to abandon their ancestral homes.
The governor told journalists during a visit to an IDP camp at IBB Primary School, Minna, that over 50 villages had been overrun by the terrorists/bandits and deserted by original inhabitants.
“I am confirming that there are Boko Haram elements around Kaure in Shiroro local government of Niger State. They have taken over the territory. They have installed their flag. I am confirming to you now that they have taken over the wives of the people by force,” the governor said.
He described the situation in the state as critical and pathetic, as over 3000 villagers, who abandoned their villages, are now in Minna, the state capital, as displaces persons.
According to the governor, “a majority of the displaced persons will have to remain in this camp in Minna because their villages have been taken over by Boko Haram terrorists/bandits. Their wives have been seized from them and forcefully attached to Boko Haram elements.”
He lamented that the appeal of the state government to the federal government towards dealing with the insecurity was yet to yield the desired results
“I have been engaging the federal government and, unfortunately, it has gotten to this stage and if care is not taken even Abuja is not safe. We have been saying this for long and all efforts have been in vain,” he said
Earlier at the IDPs camp, a youth leader, Bulus Esu, said his people in Kuchi, in Munya local government area, had been locked down by the terrorists for the past three weeks.
Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/202104270046.html
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