By Sadiq Abubakar
Maiduguri
Residents of Gamboru Ngala town in Borno state woke up yesterday to another calamity when hundreds of suspected Boko Haram insurgents invaded Fuyi, Fatakol and other communities bordering Cameroon, Kala Balge and Gamboru Ngala local government areas of Borno state, leaving no less than 32 people dead.
Dozens of people were injured with over 35 houses burnt and 15 shops destroyed, sources and witnesses have said.
Kala Balge is located about 120 kilometres away from Maiduguri, while Gamboru Ngala is located about 150 kilometres away from the state capital.
An eyewitness, Mamman Goni, who spoke on phone with our correspondent from Maiduguri, said the incident started around 4 a.m. yesterday when the insurgents slaughtered over 15 people in Fuyi village, near Gamboru Ngala, a border town with Cameroon.
He also said the insurgents, armed with AK47 rifles, were seen entering the town and shooting sporadically, chanting “Allahu Akbar!”
He added that residents, who had earlier returned to the town, started running up and down for safety.
“Some fled back to Cameroon villages and towns that they earlier took refuge in, while others met their untimely death because the insurgents were just shooting anyhow at people and even setting houses and shops ablaze,” he said.
Goni also said: “And all this is happening because there is no presence of Nigerian troops in Gamboru Ngala since the period the town was recaptured from the insurgents; and the Chadian troops have also left the country.
“I should think this gave the insurgents the opportunity to enter the town or recapture the town.”
Meanwhile, the capture of Bama has led to the discovery of horrendous atrocities perpetrated by terrorists while their hold on the town lasted, and as they fled.
“A large number of dead bodies were discovered in wells apparently of some of their hostages or those who resisted them”, a source told PRNigeria.
Aside those whose bodies were thrown inside wells, others were also said to have been executed on the River Bama bridge as the terrorists fled the town.
Civilians who have been cooperating with troops also narrated horrendous tales of the brutality while they held sway and ruled with iron hands, executing their own version of religious jurisprudence.
An intelligence officer confirmed that the cordon and search of the town was continuing while some persons in the town were also being interrogated by troops.
Military and security sources confirmed to PRNigeria that as troops advanced on Bama the terrorists embarked on a killing and maiming spree.
“Military medical teams and emergency workers have been attending to survivors and evacuating internally displaced persons as screening of the town continues,” the source said.
When contacted, Defence spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade, declined commenting on specific atrocities by the terrorists, saying specific details would only be given after the ongoing thorough search of the town and its environments is concluded.
With the dislodgement of terrorists from most of their locations in the North-east and especially Bama, mop-up operations by troops have been revealing heart-rendering atrocities perpetrated while the terrorists held sway in the towns and villages.