Boko haram have attacked Diffa prison in southeastern Niger and also hijacked a bus travelling in Koza and abducted all the passengers therein. It is estimated that there were about 30 passengers in the bus including 8 Cameroonian girls. The group also hijacked another bus in Akada-Banga in Nigeria and abducted 20 passengers. Koza is a small border town located in Northern Cameroon, while Akada-Banga is a village located in Bama district of Borno State in North-East Nigeria. All the three separate incidents took place on Sunday 8th, February.
Credible reports reveal that the hijacked Cameroonian bus was driven towards Nigeria; and that the terror group killed 7 of the hostages, including the bus driver, and scattered their slain bodies on the border. The 8 Cameroonian girls who age between 11-14 years old were abducted by the Sunni jihadists.
The hijacked Nigerian bus also had women and children and intelligence reports show that the terror group has abducted and relocated all the teenage girls. The fate of the rest of the passengers is still unknown.
In Niger, Boko haram detonated a car bomb in Diffa town, and stormed the town’s prison overnight. The car bomb killed 5 people and injured 5 others. The twin attacks on Diffa resulted in a fierce battle between the terror group and Nigerien security forces which lasted till dawn whence the terrorists were repelled.
The latest attack on Diffa town persuaded Nigerien legislators on Monday to authorize the deployment of the national military as part of the regional counter-terrorism offensive against Boko Haram. In a quick rejoinder, Abubakar Shekau (Boko Haram’s eccentric leader) appeared in a video where he mocked the regional military intervention.
