Attempts by Boko Haram to attack two communities in Borno State on Sunday were repelled by the combined efforts of daring women, vigilance group and soldiers, a resident said. Some armed men on motorcycles suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists stormed Attagara village in Gwoza Local Government Area but were confronted by women as they entered the community.

“The community had information that Boko Haram may be coming again because they have attacked the village twice and other communities like Agabalawa, Barawa, Chikide and Arboko, all at the back of Gwoza Hills,” a resident of the area, who was in Maiduguri yesterday said on the condition of anonymity.

Some residents who spoke on the development attributed the daring arrest by the women mystical powers.

Sources in Gwoza said many insurgents had earlier in the day intercepted a vehicle loaded with bread, slaughtered four of the occupants and drove the vehicle towards Sambisa Forest.

The vehicle, which was on its way to Polka from Gwoza, was attacked at Warabe village.

A witness from Gwoza, who did not want his name mentioned, said: “After seizing the vehicle conveying the bread and other valuables in Gwoza and neighboring villages, some of the insurgents moved towards the Sambisa (Forest) and met some women on the way.

“The insurgents wanted to attack the women but their guns did not work. They tried hitting them with the boot of their guns but mysteriously, all the hands of the insurgents hung until youth and vigilantes in the area mobilized and killed them.”

Mohammed Gava, the chairman of local vigilantes in Borno State, confirmed the incident. “When the gunmen were moving out of Gwoza, most people fled to safety but those women refused to flee. I think the insurgents were angry and wanted to attack them but met their waterloo,” he said.

Another resident said: “It has come to the level when we have to protect ourselves and that was exactly what the people need now because Boko Haram has killed many of our people.”

The source said the alert raised by the women brought the vigilance group and residents of the village to the scene, noting that the insurgents were disarmed and lynched. “Their motorcycles were burnt,” the source said.

Meanwhile, in Kawuri, Konduga Local Government, east of Borno and about 40 kilometres to Maiduguri, the state capital, the combined action of soldiers and youth volunteers popularly called Civilian JTF averted what could have been another bloodbath when the insurgents reportedly came in a repeat attack, having twice unleashed violence on the village.

A source disclosed that three corpses of the gunmen lay on the streets of the community, adding that more dead bodies were discovered in nearby bushes by midday.

Early this year, no fewer than 100 people were killed when Boko Haram attacked the community and burnt down many houses and shops. Kawuri is a neighbouring community with Sambisa Forest, just 14 kilometres away from the Boko Haram camp along Maiduguri-Konduga-Bama Road.

It was, however, a different story in Kumuta village, where at least 24 people were killed by invading Boko Haram gunmen. According to residents, dozens of motorcycle-riding gunmen stormed the village after sunrise as locals were heading to the weekly market, opening fire on residents.

Also, across the border in Adamawa State, suspected Boko Haram gunmen stormed Waga, a Christian village, on Sunday and opened fire. An eyewitness, Ahmed Soji, said: “The gunmen believed to be Boko Haram insurgents in trucks and on motorcycles attacked the village where they killed 20 people and burnt several houses.

“The whereabouts of several other people are still unknown but it is assumed they fled into the bush to escape the attack and are yet to return.”

A second attack by the marauding gunmen on nearby Gublak village was repelled by soldiers in the area, Soji said without saying if there were casualties in the shootout.

Adamawa, which is one of three states under emergency law along with Borno and Yobe, has seen a string of deadly Boko Haram attacks.

In February, the group killed 34 people and burnt scores of homes in coordinated bombing and shooting attacks on Michika, Kirchiga and Shuwa towns near the border with Borno.

•Pieced together from reports in Daily Sun, Daily Trust and PM NEWS. Photo: Women are not only marching in the streets against Boko Haram but also getting involved in physical combat with the terrorists.

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