Boko Haram insurgents on Friday December 18, allegedly kidnapped 35 commuters travelling along Damaturu-Maiduguri road, it has emerged.
According to TheCable, the gunmen appeared in military uniforms, mounted a roadblock on the highway with five Hilux vans before attacking a large convoy of commuters near Garin Kuturu in Jakana at about 5 pm and taking them away.
A military source told the publication;
The passengers first sighted a burning fire, but they thought it was bush burning, not knowing that they had already ambushed a Dangote’s truck driver and set it ablaze.
But while they were approaching the scene, they sighted the insurgents storming towards them on trucks mounted with heavy weapons, before they could turn their vehicles to run, the insurgents had already caught up with them.
He added;
Many of the passengers fled to the bush, 35 were abducted, two private vehicles and one truck were set ablaze. Nine vehicles of the abducted passengers were also abandoned at the scene while their properties were looted.
Danbatta Bello, a spokesman for the Civilian-JTF, confirmed the incident to PremiumTimes during a phone interview, saying;
The situation along Maiduguri-Damaturu highway has gone out of control – the attacks have become a daily affair.
Though we have deployed our personnel in the Rapid Response Squad to patrol the road, especially the identified flashpoints, the insurgent would still spring a surprise attack on other unusual spots of the highway.
Last week, suspected Boko Haram fighters kidnapped two aid workers travelling from Damaturu to Maiduguri, and later used the Facebook page of one of the aid workers, to announce that they had killed them and “their corpses would never be found”.
Travelling the 135km stretch of road between the state capitals is considered extremely dangerous if such a journey is done before 9 am or after 2 pm when the route is busy.
