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Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Survivors of Boko Haram attack along Maiduguri-Damaturu highway have revealed how seven persons were abducted by the insurgents.
According to one of two of the survivors, the insurgents who wore military camouflage and drove two military-coloured four-wheel drive vehicles, intercepted the mini bus conveying the passengers in a commercial vehicle among them civilians, police and soldiers at about 11.40am last Thursday.
The survivors said they were in another vehicle driving behind the mini bus when the incident occurred at Jakana town. They said the soldier in the bus mistook the insurgents for fellow soldiers based on the camouflage and colour of vehicle they drove.
“A soldier came out of the Toyota Sharon and identified himself. He thought those who stopped the vehicle were military personnel. He persuaded them to allow the vehicle pass as is often with military personnel in plain clothes traveling along the road. He didn’t know they were Boko Haram in military uniform. They asked if he was actually a soldier, and he brought out his army ID card. So he was asked to stay aside while they evacuate other passengers,” the witness said.
A military source said the soldier, his wife and a policeman were among six persons abducted from the vehicle by Boko Haram.
The insurgents fired several guns into the air before zooming off with the victims in their vehicle. The military or police are yet to react to the incident which occurred two days prior to the attack on the convoy of Maj Gen Olusegun Adeniyi, theatre commander of operation Lafiya Dole.
