By Bala Ajiya
Exactly one week after the Boko
Haram attacks on Damaturu, the
Yobe State capital, the town is still
without police protection and
thousands of residents are fleeing
their homes.
Despite the assurance of the Police
Commissioner of Yobe State,
Suleiman Lawal, that the force has
the matter under control, residents
are fleeing the area out of fear of
more attacks.
Christians, non natives flee
Many of the fleeing residents are
Christians and non-natives . A
fleeing resident told our reporter
that he had to flee because he
feared another attack.
State Police Headquaters burnt on
November 4 by members of the
Boko Haram sect in Damaturu,
Yobe State.AFP PHOTO
“Many residents resolved to leave
because they feared the Islamic sect
members could strike again despite
the show of force by soldiers and
mobile policemen. I’m at the
Damaturu Mass Transit Park with
my family and many other people
who are leaving the town. I have
lived here for about 20 years but I
can’t afford to stay here longer
than today,” he said.
According to him, “ there were
hundreds of people at the Central
Motor Park located at the heart of
the state capital who were waiting
for Jos, Kano and Abuja bound
vehicles to connect other parts of
the country, ” adding that the
people were unmindful of the high
transport fare. “Some of them are
heading for the Eastern States”.
Shops, businesses shut down
“ As you can see, many shops are
still closed .Many of the Igbo
traders are yet to open their shops
and businesses following the killing
of some of their kinsmen during the
attacks. A spare parts dealer, was
reportedly shot in his shop minutes
after the anti-terrorism squad office
was bombed,” he continued.
Saturday Vanguard reporter
observed that most of the people
fleeing Damaturu were in various
motor parks, especially the Young
Shall Grow buses, heading to the
East. Almost all shops and business
premises belonging to non
indigenes in Damaturu have
remained shut since the day of the
incident and normalcy is yet to
return to the state.
Jerusalem worst hit
Prominent among the areas worst
hit was Jerusalem where over seven
high churches were destroyed and
several lives lost. Also affected in
the dastardly act which is believed
to have been masterminded by the
dreaded Boko Haram (Yusufiyya)
sects are the new complexes of the
Yobe state Police command
Headquarters, First Bank buildings,
all along Gashua Road in the
Damaturu Metropolis.
Our correspondent went around
some of the affected areas
especially Jerusalem which was a
Christian dominated area and which
had the largest number of
casualties. While in Jerusalem, in an
interview with a victim, Joseph Paul,
narrated how his residence was
badly damaged by the bomb blasts
as walls of his house developed
cracks and the roof was left hanging
in suspension. According to him,
since their security is no longer
guaranteed by the government, they
are left with the only option of
leaving the state.
In New Jerusalem area of the city,
no fewer than six churches were
torched by suspected Boko Haram
members in a bombing that also
affected a police station.
Several people were killed by co-
ordinated Fedayeen attacks; one at
a college in Maiduguri, the Borno
State capital, while Mujahideen
gunmen attacked a church in
Kaduna, shooting two female
worshippers to death.
Jerusalem, which is a predominantly
Christian dominated area, was the
worst hit by the bomb blast.
Residents of the area said that since
their security is no longer
guaranteed by the government, they
are only left with the option of
leaving the state with their families.
A resident of Jerusalem, Mr. Ezekiel
Solomon, said that the attack
carried out by the Boko Haram in
Jerusalem led to the loss of lives
and properties which they suffered
to gathered over the years. The
residents also complained about
the lack- luster attitude of the
government for not providing
adequate security for the residents
of Jerusalem.
This makes most of the residents
avail themselves with the
opportunity provided by the
government of their various states
to travel to their various home
towns in the South-East and for the
past five days, there have been
exodus of people from the
Jerusalem area of the state.
Residents pursued, killed in bushes
Mr. Ezekiel further confirmed to our
reporter that many of the residents
that fled to the bush were pursued
and killed by the insurgents and for
the past five days, it has been an
herculean task to retrieve the dead
bodies of the victims from the bush.
Jerusalem is now a ghost of itself
because of the fear of being
attacked by the unscrupulous
elements that will take advantage of
the laxity in security to unleash
more terror.
Why Boko Haram hit Damaturu
Damaturu has been a peace haven
for years as most of the indigenes
of Maiduguri that ran away because
of the same problem in Maiduguri
found peace on Damaturu over the
past one year. The governor, Alh.
Ibrahim Gaidam has been
diplomatic in order to avoid a spill-
over of Maiduguri problem in
Damaturu.
He went to the extent of
admonishing the commissioner of
police, Mal. Sulaiman Lawal, to treat
the issue softly to avoid blood shed
in Damaturu but the commissioner
of police refused to heed to the
advice of the governor.
A victim who confided in our
correspondent said, ‘’three weeks
ago, police operatives arrested a
Boko Haram member at Maisandari
ward Damaturu who is on transit
and even the attention of the
governor was drawn to it and he
advised that the issue be handled
with care. But the Police decided to
ignore the governor’s advice and
went ahead to detain the member.
This infuriated them, hence the
attacks on Damaturu and the mass
killings’’
Since last Friday, Damaturu has
been reduced to a scary town
because this is the first time in the
history of the state that such a mass
killing is recorded.
However, most people, particularly
the indigenes, are now returning
back to their various local
governments in search of safety
and to avoid the unnecessary
embarrassment posed by the
security agents that were deployed
to Damaturu after the mayhem.
Despite the fact that the governor
instructed the security men not to
arrest any indigene or non indigene
in Damaturu, few of the security
men still go about embarrassing
innocent people.
The bomb attacks in
Damaturu,Yobe State last weekend
claimed the lives of over a 100
people, including security
operatives and others .The Yobe
state capital was on Friday, 4th
November 2011, thrown into a
mournful mood following the
devastating bomb blasts and
explosions that ravaged strategic
security outfits and government
establishments with colossal
damages of lives and property
where over 100 people were
confirmed to have lost their lives.
Hafiz Ringim, IGP
‘My friends were killed before my
eyes’
A businessman in Damaturu said he
wants to leave the state because of
so many issues which had to do
with his faith as a Christian, adding
that the crises in Yobe left him with
no option but to leave and settle
elsewhere. Another resident said he
didn’t know how he survived.
“ My friends were killed before my
eyes. I was just running and
somehow I escaped.”
Victims, CAN accuse govt, emir of
lacklustre
Some families of the victims are in
still in tears searching for their
relations who might have been
caught in the web. Some of the
victims are still missing. Most of
them, it was gathered vented their
anger on the government for its
lackadaisical attitude in handling
security of lives and property of its
citizens, especially at the wake of
Nigeria’s nascent democracy since
May 1999.
A relation of a victim, Mrs Mary
John, explained that up till this
moment, government has not
found it expedient to deploy
security operatives to Jerusalem in
an attempt to allay their
apprehension and fear since the
mayhem that engulfed many lives
for the first time since the creation
of Yobe State in August 1991.
“ I don’t want you to take my
pictures so that I don’t fall victim as
they warned us they are coming
back again to achieved their master
plan.”
A man who lost all he had
lamented, “We just cannot continue
to put our wrong foot forward all
the time and expect investors to
come and invest their money in an
unsafe environment.”
Also at the hospital where many
victims were hospitalised , the
Chairman Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN) Rev. Garba Idi told
journalists that they sought
audience with the Emir of
Damaturu, Alh. Baba Shehu but
their request was turned down.
“ I wondered why, despite the
colossal loss and damage incurred
by Christians and non indigenes
alike, the traditional ruler who is
supposed to be father to all will
turn deaf ears to their plight even
without any sense of sympathy or
condolences. Since the crisis began,
particularly in Jerusalem ward which
is dominated by Christians and
non-indigenes, many of them had
chosen to leave the state.
Ten churches, 11 vehicles, seven
motorcycles and one bicycle were
burnt during the attack. So many
Christians were killed and some
people are still missing. Some
people are still calling us to say that
they discovered the bodies of some
of their missing relatives who were
killed in the bush. We are not too
comfortable with the security
arrangements here.”
CAN, Women condemn attack
The Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) has called on the Federal
Government to demonstrate the
political will to deal decisively with
the increasing wave of terrorism in
the country. The group condemned
reports from different parts of the
North that showed that several
innocent lives were sent to their
early graves and properties worth
millions of naira have either been
torched or vandalised in another
orgy of religious violence.
The National Council of Women’ s
Societies (NCWS) also deplored last
weekend’s killings in Yobe and
Borno states, urging the
government to fish out perpetrators
of the act.
The group in a statement described
as barbaric and unacceptable the
killing of innocent Nigerians by
some people.
The group lamented that women
were being turned into “widows
prematurely, losing their children,
loved ones and valuable property
due to the violent activities of some
unpatriotic Nigerians and their
collaborators.”
Also in a recent interview, CAN
President, Ayo Oritsejafor, said the
group recorded a lot of losses in
Damaturu. CAN said that six of its
churches were burnt by the
extremists. The churches, according
to CAN President, were the
Assemblies of God Church, St. Mary
Catholic Church, Living Faith
Church, EYN Church, Cherubim and
Seraphim Church, and two churches
belonging to the ECWA.
“ At least four of our members were
killed by co-ordinated Fedayeen
attacks, one at a college in
Maiduguri, the Borno State capital
while Mujahideen gunmen attacked
a church in Kaduna, shooting two
female worshipers to death.”
CAN lamented that Islamic sects in
the north had constantly launched
assault on Christians, saying the
situation was becoming worrisome
and needed to be nipped in the
bud.
The group called on the federal
government to demonstrate the
political will to deal decisively with
the increasing wave of terrorism in
the country, arguing that the much
needed investment-friendly
environment might be a pipe dream
if there is no peace in the nation.

vanguardngr.com/2011/11/yobe-bombings-my-friends-were-killed-before-my-eyes/