On Boko Haram: Locals use caves to hide from terrorists in Gwoza

The terror crisis that has bedeviled Gwoza area in the Borno State has left the thousands of displaced villagers living under desperate circumstances with lack of basic such as shelter, food and water. The area has been under siege from the Boko Haram terrorists over the past month. Most affected by the incessant attacks are Attagara, Amuda, Agapalawa, Ashigashiya, Ngoshe and Chikedeh. The

residents started seeking refuge in the caves of the Mandara Mountains in Gwoza council area
of the state. An estimated 1 300 have sought sanctuary in Miaduguri risking life and limb on the way. Some terror victims said they would not return to their homes until the military was deployed. The Senator representing Southern Borno at the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, had led the call of stakeholders from the areas for military deployment to no avail. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Maiduguri, the immediate past vice chairman of Gwoza Council, Francis Mbala Nduka and Caretaker Committee Chairman, Dr. Hamman Jumba Ahmadu, confirmed the people of Gwoza East had fled into Gwoza hills and taken refuge in the mountains. “Our people have been gripped with fear and trauma for over two weeks; and had no any other place to flee; than to run into caves of
Gathahure, Gjigga, Kunde, Hwa’a, Hrazah and Hembe hill settlements. They are struggling for
food and water. They have resorted to eating wild fruits and roots to survive since the villages
had been attacked and the insurgents believed to be lurking around.” They said other villagers had fled to Maiduguri for safety and depending on the relief material coming from the Gwoza Resettlement Committee, led by Asabe Vilita Bashir, who is also the Borno State Commissioner for Commerce, Tourism and Investments. “More than 50 per cent of Gwoza council has been taken over by the insurgents. They have torched houses in six affected border villages and towns, including Ashgashiya, the district headquarters, ten kilometres from Cameroonian territory recently. But there are fears and about the destroyed villages in this council as the Boko Haram are inducting the boys into the sect,” officials said. They appealed to military authorities to deploy more personnel to the affected areas in order to wrestle them from the insurgents, noting that only Pulka and Kirawa towns had troops safeguarding the areas.