Boko Haram sacks 50 Niger communities, Abuja not safe – Governor

Boko Haram terrorists have sacked 50 communities in Niger State and hoisted their flag in Kaure village, the state governor. Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has alerted.

He stated that the operation of Boko Haram terrorists in the state was spreading and had hoisted their flag in Kaure, one of the 50 villages deserted as a result of several attacks by bandits.

Indeed, he said Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, might no longer be safe because of its proximity to Niger, just some 100 kilometres away.

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 Sambisa forest is several kilometres away from Abuja, Kaure is only two hours’ drive to Abuja,” he said.

The governor also said the group had been making 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 IDPs camp at IBB Primary School, Minna, that over 50 villages had been overrun by the terrorists.

“I am confirming that there are Boko Haram elements around Kaure in the Shiroro Local Government Area 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 3,000 villagers, who abandoned their villages, had moved to Minna, the state capital.

Bello said, “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 also said, “I have been engaging the Federal Government and, unfortunately, it has got 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.”

A youth leader at the IDPs camp, Bulus Esu, said his people in Kuchi in the Munya Local Government Area had been locked down by the terrorists for the past three weeks.

He said, “For three weeks now, there is no person living in Kuchi town and there is no food for the fleeing villagers. The bandits have entered very deep into the area and have overrun several villages. They have occupied Kuchi where they now sleep as their homes.”

According to him, two weeks ago, the bandits demanded N5m ransom from the people of Kampana to avert being kidnapped.

“The people did this to avoid being kidnapped. However, when they came back the next time, they asked the women to cook food for them after which they still raped the women,” he said.