Vigilante Groups, Local Hunters Kill Over 70 Insurgents, Reclaim Maiha Town

No fewer than 70 Boko Haram fighters were killed by a combined force of local vigilantes and hunters in Maiha Local Government area of Adamawa State, as the insurgents attempted to install an Amir (leader), residents of the area have said.

Maiha town, which is about 25 kilometers from Mubi – the hometown of the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh – which was captured about two weeks ago, and about 200km from Yola the state capital, has now been liberated from the stranglehold of the insurgents.

Maiha fell to the insurgents on Monday after they launched an offensive, which claimed the lives of several soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, while those that managed to survive the onslaught, reportedly deserted.

Afterwards, local hunters and vigilante groups mobilized themselves and took the war to the insurgents, who were on the verge of establishing their authority in the town.

The local hunters and vigilante groups were reported to have overwhelmed the insurgents as they confronted them in their hundreds, killing dozens of the terrorists and recapturing the town. They also vowed to repel any further attacks on their town.

A resident, Mallam Sani Pella, said that before the attack on the insurgents, he saw about 10 truckloads of the local fighters heading towards Maiha.

Another resident of the area, who affirmed that about 75 insurgents were killed in the battle, said no member of the Boko Haram sect has been sighted in Maiha as they had all retreated to Mubi following the crushing defeat they suffered.

Confirming the development to PREMIUM TIMES, a local hunter, Baba Dauda, said that the hunters made up their minds to fight because the insurgents had been killing and maiming far too many people.

“We had to wake up and fight the bastards that keep plaguing our societies killing innocent souls.

“People should brace up and start fighting them; we killed many of them. We are not afraid of being killed”, he added.

Following the attack, it was gathered that remaining residents, who were trapped when the insurgents captured Maiha town, have now started fleeing to Yola, the Adamawa State, in fear of reprisal by the insurgents.

Information Nigeria reports that the Boko Haram insurgents have taken over many towns and villages in Adamawa State, including Madagali, Michika, Mubi (North and South).