By Ibrahim Abdul’ Aziz
In a commando-style, members of Boko Haram have attacked a military base station in Gubla area of Madagali local government area in Adamawa state.
The insurgents also blew off some parts of Madagali development area as soldiers’ patrol jet dropped bombs on residents at old Roman Catholic Church.
Madagali is a border town between Adamawa and Borno, the headquarters of the terrorists group, which said it wants to Islamise northern Nigeria.
The raid, which eyewitnesses said occurred at about 4:00 a.m. and lasted for two hours, left at least five persons dead, including a soldier, while several others were injured.
“It was in the wee hours when the Boko Haram members struck, and eventually sacked the soldiers’ base, carted away their two patrol Hilux vans, while shooting sporadically into the air.
‘’I saw a soldier’s dead body, and a civilian killed by the insurgents,” Mr. Ularamu Joseph, a resident, said.
Another resident, simply called Musa, said the gunmen stormed the area and immediately proceeded to the military check point where they killed a soldier and left with their two patrol vans.
He said the gunmen told residents that they should not panic as they were not after them, adding that they came with the sole aim of killing soldiers on patrol.
Madagali was thrown into another round of confusion when fighter jets with Nigerian colours bombarded parts of the area, leading to the death of a girl.
“Shortly after the insurgents left, an aircraft deployed to repel them dropped three bombs each on a church, near a police post. A girl identified as Laraba Michael was instantly killed, while another dead body was discovered on the road and many others sustained injuries,” a resident, Mr John Bulus, said.
When contacted, the chairman of Madagali, Mr James Abawu Watharda, who confirmed the incident yesterday, said he could not ascertain the casualty figure.
He said: “As I am talking to you, most villagers have since fled for fear of possible attacks, as the administrative headquarters of Madagali development area was torched.
“We are calling on the government to station more troops with armoured tanks. These Boko Haram insurgents have more sophisticated weapons than the soldiers.”
The Public Relations Officer of Adamawa state Police Command, DSP Othman Abubakar, confirmed the incident, but he had not got the details yet.