Normalcy has been restored to the Moloi area of Maiduguri after the Boko Haram insurgents attacked the area on Christmas day.
Normalcy has been restored to the Moloi area of Maiduguri after the Boko Haram insurgents attacked the area on Christmas day.
Hundreds of villagers, who fled the area in the wake of the attack, had returned to their homes. Moloi is about five kilometers away from Maiduguri, located on Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu Highway. The residents are mostly engaged in crop and livestock production.
A group of insurgents, moving on gun trucks, attacked a military post there, resulting in a serious gun battle on Monday evening. Hundreds of residents in the area and adjourning villagers scampered for safety and fled into Maiduguri metropolis.
Mrs. Yaana Idris, a mother of three, said she was terrified by the insurgents who detonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and shot sporadically in the area. Idris said that she fled with her children into Maiduguri to protect them from the insurgent's attack.
“My children were playing outside when I had the explosion, followed by serious gunshots and then people shouting Boko Haram, Boko Haram. “My home is few meters away from the main road. I hurriedly gathered my kids and moved towards the town. "
“There was chaos and people were running towards Maiduguri from all directions,” she said.
Idris said that she spent the night with her relatives in Maiduguri, adding that her husband asked her to return home as normalcy returned. Amin Modu, a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), added that most of the people who fled the area had returned home.
Modu said that people were terrified and fled the area for safety. He noted that the soldiers had fought gallantly to repel the attack and destroyed motorcycles used by the insurgents.
“The insurgents escaped after their failed attempt to attack the military post; a truck and insurgents’ motorcycles were vandalized in the attack."
“One person in the village was killed by stray bullet,” Modu alleged.
However, the military command said that its troops repelled the attack. Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, said that no life was lost among the troops and normalcy had been restored. Nicholas disclosed that the troops, with air support, were pursuing the fleeing insurgents
.
