“Dozens of gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram have taken over Abadam. They have been in Abadam since Thursday [October 16, 2014] but finally hoist their flags on Friday after killing many prominent people and forcing others to cross over to Niger”. At least 30 people have been killed in Abadam alone but I don’t know the actual number of people killed in nearby localities. A traditional ruler, Ba Mallam Wasak, 75, an uncle of the immediate past Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Goni Ali Modu was among those killed. As I am talking to you, both my father and mother are still trapped in Abadam and only God will save them. Many people, especially the old are still in Abadam because they could not flee,” said a resident of Abadam, Aminu Abdullahi following the simultaneous actions by the dreaded Jihadist group in their attacks in Borno State and their peace agreement in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
The attack on Abadam village – located in the northern part of Borno state – resulted in beheading of several villagers including the septuagenarian father of a former Speaker of the Borno state House of Assembly, Goni Ali Modu.
Abadam is a border community, located about 200km north of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. It is one of the border community that is literally cut off from the rest of the state by desert sand dunes. It takes 4-wheel driven SUVs and Jeeps to get to Abadam anytime of the year.
The recent series of attacks which occurred on Thursday and Friday followed the seemingly hurried announcement of a ceasefire by Federal government of Nigeria and by leaders of the Jihadist group. As gathered, select communities were attacked resulting in the slaying of over 40 persons including the father of immediate speaker of Borno state house of assembly, Goni Ali Modu. The following day, on Friday, the town of Shaffa was attacked – resulting in the killing of 8 people – hundreds of others fled their homes.
The Jihadist gunmen did not spare the civilian JTF who had gone to the site of the gruesome attack to recover some of the corpses. They were attacked – resulting in a bloody gunfight. One member of the Jihadist group was killed.
A top security personnel in Maiduguri confirmed the incident to 247ureports.com but declined giving details on the possible casualty recorded in the Saturday repeat attack.
Similarly, residents of Bama local government area of Borno state where the Boko Haram had seized for about two months now have reported cases of serial killings of helpless residents by the Boko Haram terrorists.
A 50 years old woman, Fatima Bulama, who managed to escape to Maiduguri on foot last Monday said ‘things are getting worst in Bama; they are killing people selectively everyday. Days before I get managed to escape, they gathered all the younger women and divided them into three groups according to their age grade and then they took them away; we never knew what would become of them, but I know it would be something terrible”.
