Boko Haram raids Yobe towns, steals foodstuffs

The Chairman of Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State, Alhaji Baba Abare, on Sunday told journalists that  the Boko Haram sect attacked two Yobe towns, Fika and Ngalda, on Saturday.

Abare said the militants shot sporadically at the two towns to scare away people so as to have ample opportunity to loot.
                         

He explained that the major targets of the militants were shops in which they looted several food items as well as beverages, saying, however, that no life was loss during the attack.

Fika is about 150 kilometres west of Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, and shares boundary with Gombe State to the south.

A resident of the area, Ibrahim Mohammed, who spoke on the telephone, said the terrorists first launched an attack on Ngalda, which is the Yobe/Gombe border town.

He said they proceeded from Ngalda to Fika town, the headquarters of Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State.

Mohammed said during the assault on Fika, the terrorists burnt down the local government secretariat, the magistrate court and the Divisional Police station.

A policeman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to our correspondent, said the attackers invaded the two towns between 7.30 and 9am, looting several shops and cart away with several food items.

He added that the militants stormed the areas in two Toyota Hilux vans and took away several motorcycles, which they stole in the area.

The Yobe State Police Commissioner, Mr. Markus Danladi, declined to comment on the attack, saying the Military Joint Task Force was the only body that was authorised to speak on such matter.

Fika and Ngalda communities have suffered several cases of Boko Haram attacks since the commencement of the sect’s violence campaign as the communities also share boundaries with Gujba and Gulani LGAs, which under the captivity of the militant group for so long before it was liberated few months back by federal troops