Contrary to claims of killing scores of Boko Haram insurgents and repelling them from the town, Geidam residents who spoke to Neptune Prime on condition of anonymity have said the insurgents are still in their town and gathering in numbers.
A resident who our reporter spoke to on his way leaving town at 6.34 am today said “I saw them with my eyes…those that came day before yesterday are around and they have been joined by others who came in in the night through this morning.”
“The truth”, he said, “is that they thought they will withdraw a few hours after breaking shops and taking foodstuffs as they used to do and that’s why they quickly claimed to have repelled them but this time they did not leave as expected.”
The insurgents are still in Geidam and according to another resident, they have been distributing pamphlets written in Hausa calling on people to join their “crusade” as they intend to make Geidam one of the headquarters of their “caliphate”.
They have earlier burnt vehicles of the state fire service and those for road construction workers.
Recall that residents are trooping out of the town for fear of being conscripted by the insurgents or caught in any crossfire eventually. A resident disclosed to our reporter that “the insurgents do not stop anyone from leaving and have not killed anyone.” He said earlier they even allowed people to pass by their sides “but now the moment you approach them they will tell you to change course through hand signal”.
In a related development, however, a senior civil servant from the area called our reporter on phone and have kudos to the army for doing well. He said “the soldiers, to God did their best but they are hampered by lack of adequate weapons”. He said the insurgents have planted mines in the town and “a truck conveying soldiers threaded on one which slowed their activities”.
He called on the government to address the situation and also lamented that “Brigadier General Yerima has not been fair to our people when he said we don’t cooperate”.
He revealed that they had been communicating the movements of the insurgents to the relevant bodies from 2 pm of the fateful until they came in around 6 pm.