Drivers missing as Boko Haram intercepts trucks in Borno

Suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists have intercepted a trailer transporting Maize and three other trucks loaded with building materials to Monnguno at Garin Kashim, Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State.

This is coming barely 24 hours after the insurgents killed 17 people in Guzamala-Abbari village, an incident condemned by the Speaker, Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, who represents the constituency.

Local and security sources told our correspondent that the latest incident happened around 2:35pm on Monday.

“The insurgents mounted a roadblock and intercepted the trailer and three trucks conveying maize to Monguno and unspecified building materials to a deserted Mairari village, where the government is planning to resettle IDPs.

“They first depleted the vehicle’s tyres and set ablaze the trailer head. It took the intervention of some people to quench the fire before it spread to the body and destroyed the corn.

“Two of the truck drivers are still missing; we don’t know whether they were killed or abducted by the terrorists,“ he said.

Another source revealed that the incident occurred shortly after 10 newly sworn-in local government chairmen met with the military in Mairari village.

“The insurgents don’t want the government to resettle people in Gudumbali and other places. It’s an area they have controlled for over a decade, so they can do anything to frustrate that plan,” he said.

Gudumbali is the headquarters of Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State, which has, for many years, been deserted and still under the control of Boko Haram terrorists.

The speaker, Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, has continually advocated for the federal government and the military to liberate and reconstitute civil authority in Guatemala, especially the council’s headquarters.

IDPs’ relocation suffers setback

Recently, the Borno State Government began the repatriation of over 3,000 refugees from Cameroon and expressed readiness to return some internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes.

One of the areas targeted is Mairari, which remains an ungoverned territory.

The state government, with the help of the military, had deployed workers and began erecting huts and shelters to enable IDPs return there.

But some of the IDPs in Monguno, who spoke to our correspondent, said they were afraid to return to Mairari village following the recent attacks in Guzamala-Abbari and Monguno roads.

“Another issue is that there is still no existence of civil life in Gudumbali, not to even talk of military presence. And the surrounding communities are dominated by the boys (Boko haram fighters),” he said.

“The commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sugum Maimele, and the 10 newly elected council chairmen were holding a meeting at the Mairari army base when the insurgents attacked the trucks,” he said.

He explained that the area remains largely empty and has been under the control of ISWAP.

On Sunday, the speaker of the Borno House of Assembly said 12 bodies killed by the terrorists were recovered and given a mass burial in Monguno town.

He also revealed that five other bodies were recovered in a nearby settlement located in Nganzai Council and buried in Gajiram town, according to Islamic rites.

“I am shocked over the massacre of an unspecified number of my people in Guzamala-Abbari and some parts of Nganzai LGA by the terrorists.

“So far, 12 dead bodies of Guzamala indigenes were recovered in Guzamala-Abbari village, while five other dead bodies were indigenes of Nganzai recovered in a nearby village located in Nganzai Local Government Area during search and rescue on Sunday.

The speaker has continually advocated for the federal government and the military to liberate and reconstitute civil authority in Guzamala, especially the council’s headquarters.

Guzamala is in the northern part of Borno and about 123 kilometres from Maiduguri. The Gajiram Nganzai LGA borders it to the South, Monguno to the East, and Kukawa to the North.

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