SAN FRANCISCO, July 17, (THEWILL) – Two Nigerian businessmen were Thursday seized by Boko Haram gunmen in Gamboru, a Nigerian border town with Cameroon.
Gamboru is situated 138 kilometres northeast of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Local sources said the victims of the abduction (names withheld) were taken away in an unmarked two Toyota Hilux vehicles to an unknown destination along the border with Cameroon at 7.34pm by the heavily armed gunmen.
A local source, craving anonymity, said “some hoodlums burst into the market square in Hilux vehicles, and told the people not to panic.
“They subsequently went for the two businessmen whom they bundled into their vehicles and sped off without killing any person at the market square and mosque.”
According to the source, “We were shocked and terrified, with the abduction of our colleagues yesterday night, because the gunmen had been terrorising us with sporadic gunshots in nearby villages and settlements on the Dikwa-Ngala road.
“This road has become a route, where the insurgents have a field day, snatching people’s vehicles and in some cases killing innocent travelers.
“The military and police, are not even helping matters as our distress calls to security operatives in the border areas of Cameroon and Dikwa-Maiduguri axis, are not responded to in most cases of attacks on nearby villages and communities.
“We had to resort to our vigilante youths patrolling most of the streets of Gamboru up to 1 and 3am daily.”
He lamented that in April alone, the gunmen attacked Gamboru town, killing over 200 persons and destroying 445 houses, the central market, trucks, vehicles and motorcycles.
Also speaking on the abduction, a security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was an attempted terrorists’ attacks on Gamboru Wednesday night by suspected insurgents.
“We could not get any casualty reports from the locals, as the gunmen attempted to attack and cause havoc in Gamboru border town,” he however said.
