Suspected members of the Boko Haram sect were reported to have killed many people in Garkida, a town in Gombi local government area of Adamawa state, according to fleeing residents.
Locals say that the insurgents broke into the town around 7 pm on Friday, shooting sporadically.
Soldiers who were said to have engaged them in a gun battle later pulled back for reinforcement.
”After the security operatives beat a retreat, the insurgents were said to have moved into the town fully, setting many houses on fire.
“Garkida is currently on fire, many people were suspected to have been killed and our houses covered with smoke,” a local who claimed to have escaped by whisker has said.
The source said having wreaked havoc on Garkida, the insurgents advanced to neighboring towns.
Another source corroborated his account but said the security operatives have returned to the town.
“People ran to hide inside the mountains while they watched their houses being burnt by the insurgents,” another resident said.
A former chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Adamawa, who is a native of Garkida, Andrawus Terfa told reporters that he got the information that Boko Haram fighters have taken over the town.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Suleiman Nguroje, has confirmed the attack.
He disclosed that policemen and other security personnel have been drafted to Gombi town and its environs, to prevent the insurgents from gaining access to the town.
The command’s spokesman, however, could not give details of the attack while the time the insurgents carried out the attack has yet to be ascertained.
