Terrorists Attack Travellers, Kidnap Scores on Borno-Yobe Highway

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists, Friday, launched a deadly attack on travellers along the Damaturu-Biu highway near Mahdiya village in the Gujba local government area of Yobe State.

The assailants ambushed commercial and private vehicles on the highway, leading to the death of one person and the abduction of several others.

According to reports, the terrorists stopped vehicles around 9 a.m., forcibly removed passengers, and took them into the bush. The heavily armed attackers, positioned at Mahdiya village, approximately 40 kilometers from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, targeted multiple vehicles, leading to chaos and panic among travelers.

A survivor of the attack recounted the harrowing experience, mentioning that some passengers managed to escape and ran back towards Damaturu. The incident occurred on a busy market day in Buni Yadi, attracting thousands of people from surrounding communities for business, unfortunately making them easy targets for the attackers.

The chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Gujba Local Government Area confirmed the attack, expressing dismay over the abduction of innocent travelers. A security source also corroborated the incident, stating that suspected Boko Haram militants intercepted several passenger vehicles traveling from Maiduguri to Southern Borno through the Damaturu/Buni Yadi/Biu Road.

As for the recent attacks of Boko Haram, there is a need for enhanced security measures to protect civilians and secure major highways against such attacks.