SAN FRANCISCO, August 07, (THEWILL) – Anxiety is mounting in Gwoza, Borno State, over the whereabouts of the Emir of the town, Alhaji Mohammed Idrissa Timta, following Tuesday’s seizure of the town by Boko Haram gunmen.
In a chat with journalists on Thursday, the Senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, who is also from Gwoza, said anxiety was already growing among the indigenes of the community as nobody has heard anything from the monarch since the Boko Haram attack.
Ndume said when he spoke with the Emir last during the attack, he (the Emir) told him that the military was about to rescue him from the attackers, adding “I wish the rescue mission was successful and the Emir is safe.”
A local source, Solomon Pagu, however disclosed to THEWILL that the paramount ruler was able to escape from the attackers and may be somewhere in Maiduguri, the state capital.
Gwoza had lost its former Emir to the gunmen as the late monarch, Alhaji Shehu Idrissa Timta, who is the father of the incumbent Emir, was killed by Boko Haram gunmen during a highway attack on May 30.
Meanwhile, the military has recaptured Damboa which was seized by the insurgents a month ago. A member of the local vigilante group, Hassan Mohammed, said the Boko Haram gunmen decided to launch an attack on Gwoza after being dislodged from Damboa by the military in a clash that recorded great casualties from both sides.
