TheCable

There was tension in Makalama, a village just 15 kilometres from Chibok in Borno state, during an attack by Boko Haram insurgents.

Hassan Usman, a resident of the village, disclosed this to TheCable, saying it happened on Saturday.

Usman said but for the intervention of the military, the entire village would have been burnt down.

“The attack happened two days ago, the road they (Boko Haram) normally pass through had been blocked by the military, so they took another axis and attacked Makalama, which is 15 kilometres away from Chibok,” Usman said.

“We were all afraid. Thank God there was no casualty. The military moved in and  repelled them, though they set an explosive on the road, it did not affect the military, but a vehicle which had contact with it, got destroyed but the driver escaped.

“They had almost burnt down the entire village leaving just few houses before the military came in.”

Usman added that the insurgents were trying to steal foodstuff from the residents, who were harvesting their farm produce.

“People are using this opportunity to bring in their harvest from the farm, and Boko Haram decided to collect foodstuff.”

He appealed to the government to improve security in the area, saying there is no week that attacks are not recorded.

“If government does not take adequate measure, Boko Haram would get stronger,” he said.

“We want the government to put more effort because there is no week that we have not come under attacks in the past three or four months.

“These people are not far away from Chibok, that’s the Boko Haram. We want government to use the air force.”