In the southern part of Borno State, fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have killed at least two individuals and kidnapped six others, including two traditional leaders.
ISWAP has reportedly been on the loose in the state’s Damboa Local Government Area for the past week, according to information obtained by our correspondent.
It was discovered that ISWAP invaded Burum, a secluded community 20 kilometers along the Damboa/Biu route, where two traditional rulers had been carried away against their will after troops killed an undetermined number of ISWAP in an ambush last Thursday in the region.
An impeccable source said ISWAP fighters came back to the village and took away people as revenge for leaking their movement to troops.
“They forcefully took two traditional rulers (Wakinlin Lawan and Bulama of Burum village), the representatives who stood in for Ward Head and Village Head, respectively. Since their abduction, we haven’t heard of their whereabouts.
“They blamed the villagers for leaking information to the troops, who had earlier ambushed and killed an unspecified number of ISWAP fighters in the general area.
“It has been four days now, and we are seriously worried about their safety and this ugly development. We are begging the government to intervene,” the source said.
Similarly, the fighters of ISWAP attacked two villages on Sunday night, where two people were shot dead and others sustained various degrees of injuries in Damboa villages.
A member of a vigilante group revealed that five people were abducted by the invaders in the wee hours of the night.
“In Mugule village, one was killed, three were abducted, and one other sustained a gunshot wound in the abdomen on Sunday night.
“Also, in another Azir village, one person was killed, one wounded, and two equally taken by the attackers two days ago,” a vigilante source revealed.
Meanwhile, the Boko Haram Commander in charge of Sambisa and Gwoza axis, Ali Gana Alhaji Ali, has been killed by ISWAP fighters on Gwoza Hill, Gwoza LGA of Borno State.
A security source told the Daily Trust that Ali, one of the deadliest terrorist leaders in Borno, was killed during an ambush by ISWAP fighters on Sunday.
“He was the deputy of the late Ali Ngulde, and apart from Shekau, nobody killed human beings like him from Sambisa forest, banking, or Bayan Dutsen Gwoza.
“He was a crude killer. His foot terrorists in Gwoza areas constantly instill fear in communities, farmers, and commuters along the Pulka, Banking, Bama, and Gwoza Mubi routes.
“They take no prisoners; people are slaughtered on their farms on a weekly basis. Gwoza people will surely celebrate his demise,” he said.
This is coming over two years after the leader of Boko Haram terrorists, Abubakar Shekau, blew himself up during a deadly confrontation with the ISWAP fighters in May 2021.
Last week, the member representing Goza, Damboa, and Chibok federal constituencies in the National Assembly, Usman Ahmed Jaha, decried the killing of ten farmers in 10 days in the Goza axis.
He also complained that farmers were being killed on a daily basis in the area to scare them from harvesting their food crops.
