Thousands of residents from Gubio town in Borno State yesterday fled to Maiduguri, the state capital after suspected members of the Boko Haram sect reportedly sent them a letter warning of an imminent attack.
The fleeing residents, who arrived Maiduguri on lorries, vans and trucks, were seen in their numbers heading towards the direction of the Shehu of Borno’s palace as well as towards the city centre.
One of the displaced residents, Fannami Abuwar, said “We have been threatened with letter by the Boko Haram insurgents, saying that they would attack us soon and we all have to flee for our lives having heard of what happened to communities like Damasak and Malumfatori where similar threat were made and carried out”.
Confirming the development, a spokesman for the Vigilante Group in Borno State, Muhammed Gava, said: “We were all disturbed by the development because Gubio, though not too far away from Maiduguri, has been very peaceful and calm all this while”.
Meanwhile, there has been no official reaction to the situation from officials of the state government and aid workers.
Gubio, which is about 96 kilometres away from Maiduguri, is an agrarian town and headquarters of Gubio local government area.