The Islamist terrorists invaded Gwoza town last week and had seized a number of residents as hostages, according to a source. According to the source, the emir and a few other hostages were able to escape in a heavy downpour of rain.
A security source has told SaharaReporters that Muhammadu Timta, the emir of the besieged town of Gwoza in Borno State, had been rescued from the Gwoza Hills where he fled from insurgents belonging to the Islamist group, Boko Haram.
The Islamist terrorists invaded Gwoza town last week and had seized a number of residents as hostages, according to a source. According to the source, the emir and a few other hostages were able to escape in a heavy downpour of rain.
The same source said that the fleeing emir’s wife was not so fortunate as members of Boko Haram identified her and reportedly murdered her.
In a report shortly after Boko Haram fighters sacked Gwoza and killed scores of residents last week, SaharaReporters had disclosed that the emir’s whereabouts were unknown. But our source said the traditional ruler of the embattled town remained incommunicado because he fled with numerous other hostages to the surrounding hilly terrains around Gwoza.
“The Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Muhammadu Timta, was declared missing because we did not have any news about him for the first few days after the Boko Haram attack. But he later showed up after escaping through the mountains,” said our source. He added, “the emir is now in Yola but will soon be on his way to Abuja for medical treatment. His wife was killed by members of the [Boko Haram] sect once they identified who she was.”
Mr. Timta was crowned the emir after Boko Haram insurgents ambushed his late father and then emir, Idrisa Timta, in late May, 2014.