Residents of Geidam town in Yobe State, northeast Nigeria, have revealed that the motive behind the Boko Haram militants’ invasion of the town late Wednesday could be attributed to their search for food and other necessities.
The residents, who came out on Thursday morning to assess the extent of destruction after the gun battle, said that the style of attack carried out by the insurgents revealed that several shops selling food items and beverages among others were burgled.
The Boko Haram militants, according to them, also robbed well-to-do individuals in the town of their money among several other valuables.
“They took away cars belonging to residents, broke shops, loaded the stolen items and went away with it,” an anonymous resident said.
They also said that the town had been placed under a curfew as security personnel drove away residents who were counting losses early in the morning.
“When we went out to assess the extent of destruction hours after the attack, security operatives later came and drove us away. They asked everybody to go back home and to stay indoors until further notice,” he said.
The source also said that the Police barracks and the Customs office in Geidam town, among several shops belonging to the people were set ablaze.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer, Yobe Command, ASP Toyin Gbadegesin, said that the town was calm but there was no official statement on imposition of a curfew on the town.
He also said that security operatives were taking stock, promising that they would make their findings public after taking stock of the destruction inflicted on the town.
