Maiduguri, Borno State — A number of Maiduguri residents, survivors of and eyewitnesses to the recent slaughter in Borno State's capital by suspected Boko Haram sect members, recount their experience.
Wreckage of truck burnt in front of the Gomari Police Divisional Office which was completely razed
It will be recalled that on Monday, December 2, about 300 armed terrorists invaded the city and wreaked havoc onto military formations and police stations.
The area accommodates hundreds of JTF (Joint Task Force) operatives and the Divisional Police Station in Gomari Airport Ward of the metropolis, as well as 50 military vehicles.
Nigerian Air Force Base offices, staff quarters, club house, five aircraft were set ablaze by the terrorists and burnt completely. Residential buildings, such as semi-detached bedroom flats and offices with staff quarters newly built by the Borno State Government at the 33 Artillery Regiment base, were also razed by the fire.
Mallam Yakubu Gashua, who lives near the now-destroyed 79 Composite Group, Nigerian Air force Base (NAF), said:
"I thought my days on earth was over on that day.
"My wife and I were in bed, and all of a sudden, I started hearing heavy sounds of gunshots, as if it was in my compound. We immediately woke up and started reciting some protective verses in the Quran.
"The gunshots became more intense with ceaseless explosions all over the place.
"At a point I told my wife and my uncle, who came from Gashua for a visit, that our days have ended.
"I said, 'Who is going to take care of my two little children who are still writing their exams in a boarding school in Damaturu, the Yobe state capital?' But thank Allah for sparing all of us."
Two brothers who lived opposite the NAF main gate, a military object that was the first port of call of the terrorists, were slain. Their neighbour recalls that the attackers arrived the base around 4a.m., and called for Subhi prayers in a nearby mosque before chanting 'Allahu Akbar' ['God is Great'].
"The terrorists entered the compound and saw a Toyota hilux loaded with bags of beans, and they asked my deceased neighbour to provide the keys of the loaded vehicle to them.
"When he said the keys were with the driver somewhere else, they immediately opened fire on him. His brother was ambushed at his patent medicine store around 7am a few metres away from the NAF main gate, and was killed."
Another resident, who lives close to the NAF base, narrated his own ordeal:
"When I heard a strange voice close to our mosque, I asked myself, who are these people calling for Subhi prayers? I peeped outside just to see what was happening, and when I discovered that the voice is a strange one, I quickly went back home.
"Later, we went to the mosque and performed our prayers with my deceased neighbours who were killed after the prayers.
"We didn't know that the terrorists were the ones calling for the Subhi prayers.
“We performed our pre-dawn prayers successfully, and, as we were about to enter our house, we started hearing the sounds of gunfire, explosives and bombs inside the NAF premises. The sound of the explosives was even shaking our houses, which now have cracks after the multiple explosions inside the NAF Base. In fact, I had to quickly hide myself with my wife and two of my little children inside an abandoned soak-away toilet in the compound for over two hours."
Mallam Abba Usman, is a resident of Mwaramti village, opposite the 33 Artillery Regiments. His place of residence was not spared by the terrorists also, as he says, "The terrorists were very active and brave, as they stopped and picked dead bodies of their members."
Residents say the tragic events in Maiduguri, a city which had witnessed relative peace for the past six months, calls for serious concern of the government and the people of Borno State.
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