Boko Haram Forced Trapped Residents In Bama, Gwoza For Training

Boko Haram terrorists are considered to be training middle aged men, trapped in Bama, Gwoza and nearby villages, opinion leaders have said.
Gwoza was declared the headquarters of his “Islamic Caliphate” by the leader of the Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, after periodic raids forced away local authorities, security establishments, the first class emir and many others.
Hundreds of others who could not escape were held captive. The situation is similar in Bama as well as in more than 15 local government zones in Borno State.
Community leaders said that dozens of trapped residents in Bama and Gwoza who rejected to be “recruited” for the training on arms handling were killed by Boko Haram leaders.
Mustapha Musa, a community leader in Bama who is now taking refuge in Maiduguri said: “I am sad to inform you that the delay by Nigerian authorities to recover Bama and Gwoza from the terrorists is leading to something else.”
“For now, a lot of our people trapped in Bama have been moved into a camp in Gwoza where they are forcefully undergoing special training on terrorism, in fact, some have been cajoled to accept the doctrine of the insurgents.”
Answering how he received his information since he was taking shelter in Maiduguri, Musa said: “Some people escaped from Bama on Friday when soldiers from Cameroon invaded the town and came with the story.”
Maigida Emmanuel, another official from Gwoza, verified Musa’s statement.
Emmanuel inquired the basis behind leaving major towns under the control of the Boko Haram, saying: “We are fully aware that both Bama and Gwoza were taken over by the insurgents long before Mubi, but I am still confused as to how Mubi was rescued. Is it because it is the hometown of the Chief of Defence Staff?”
About 20 local government areas of Borno State are now under the control of Boko Haram, making over two million residents to move to Maiduguri, the state capital and other sites, according to the deputy governor, Zanna Umar Mustapha.
It should be noted that more than 41 Boko Haram terrorists were killed by Cameroon’s army along the country’s border with Nigeria.
Gwoza is a Local Government Area of Borno State. Its headquarters are in the town of Gwoza, a border town “about 135 kilometres South-East of Maiduguri.”
Gwoza LGA has been called “a notorious hide out for the Boko Haram insurgents,” who arrived in the area in 2009 from Maiduguri. The area has suffered considerable violence as a result of the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria, and in 2014, saw an influx of Boko Haram fighters fleeing Sambisa Forest.