Soldier Shot As Boko Haram Strikes in Maiduguri Abducts 30 Passangers

A yet-to-be identified soldier was reportedly shot dead, Friday, after insurgents dressed in military camouflage seized about 30 passengers at a checkpoint mounted by the insurgents along the main route leading to Borno State capital, Maiduguri.

Avaliable information indicates the soldier was killed along the Kondiri village near Jakana town in Konduga Local Government Area of the state and three other wounded by insurgents who attacked the military contingent along the road, according to reports.

Source said that vehicles and personal belongings of the passengers seized along the route were left on the scene.

According to report in Daily Trust, Modu Usman an eyewitness who narrowly escaped the attack said the insurgents dressed in military camouflage with two Toyota Hilux mounted with anti-aircraft gun station by the roadside in the manner similar to that of Nigerian troops.

“God saved us, our driver has experienced that road, when we are approaching them,” Usman said.

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“Already a hummer bus and two golf cars have been intercepted and motorists stopped, so they started shooting and we made a u-turn into the bush.”

“So they allowed golf cars to go but all the passengers. We returned to Benishek town to pass the night. This morning we saw four vehicles including a truck with the marking of Dangote company conveying cement burnt down,” he added said.

The Kondiri village road connecting the towns in Yobe and Borno states is about 130 kilometres, with a number of villages along the axis, according to report in HumAngle.

The Jakana-Auno-Maiduguri section of the road is considered dangerous and risky due to the bad nature of the road and frequent Boko Haram interception of passengers and attacks on security forces.

In February, at least 30 people were killed when insurgents set fire on stranded travellers caught in a roadblock in Auno.

Civilians and aid workers have been abducted and killed by the insurgents.

Those abducted have suffered different fates – while some have been released others have been executed or being kept interminably in captivity.

Insurgency in the Nigerian northeast has led to at least 30,000 deaths and displaced over 2.3 million people, a large proportion of whom are living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) within garrison towns established by the Nigerian military.