Boko Haram Kills 1, Abducts Passengers On Borno-Yobe Highway

Many travellers along the Damaturu-Biu highway were on Friday kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram terrorists near Mahdiya village in Gujba local government area of Yobe State.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the insurgents ambushed commercial and private vehicles playing the highway on Friday morning and abducted many passengers in six vehicles and killed one person.

One of the travellers, who escaped, told our Correspondent that vehicles were stopped by the insurgents around 9am with passengers dragged out and taken away into the bush.

He said the heavily armed insurgents took position on the highway at Mahdiya village in Gujba local government area, 40 kilometers from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

Speaking to journalists after the incident, the chairman, National Union Road Transport of Workers (NURTW), Gujba LGA of Yobe State, said some of passengers came out of their vehicles and ran back towards Damaturu, where they were coming from.

“Today Friday is Buni Yadi Market where thousands of people from the surrounding communities come for business, unfortunately the Boko Haram abducted them,” he stated.

A credible source from the security circle confirmed the incident, saying suspected Boko Haram terrorists on Friday had laid ambush for the travellers.

The security source while confirming the incident, said: “Information received this morning indicate that suspected Boko Haram intercepted a number of passenger vehicles coming from Maiduguri to Southern Borno through Damaturu/Buni Yadi/Biu Road.”