Thousands Flee Two Ancient Borno Towns After Receiving Threat Letter from Boko Haram

Thousands of people have fled the ancient towns of Kukawa and Gubio in Borno State for the state capital, Maiduguri, after a letter reportedly written by the Islamist terror group, Boko Haram, threatened an imminent attack.


The fleeing residents arrived at the Baga motor park in numerous vehicles, with many moving into refugee camps while others sought out relations residing in Maiduguri. Boko Haram
“They had attacked other local government areas around us. So when we received threat letters from Boko Haram that they would attack us soon, we all had to flee for our lives,” said Modu Kaka, one of those who fled. He added, “We heard what happened to people in Damasak where a similar threat was made and carried by Boko Haram.”

Gubio, located in the northern part of Borno State, is about 50 miles from Maiduguri.
A fish seller at Baga fish market named Gubio Masa said “I have 12 members of my family from Gubio town now staying in my house. I don’t know how we are going to cope. We want the military to double their efforts to ensure that this madness stops. We can no longer sleep with our two eyes even in Maiduguri. Gubio is less than 100 kilometers.”

In an interview, another displaced person claimed that Boko Haram recruiters gathered some of them together and tried to persuade them to join the Islamist group. “Some of us who refused to join them had to leave in a hurry without taking any belongings. I was half-dead because after walking from Kukawa to Maiduguri,” he said
A senior official of the Borno State government who hails from Gubio confirmed the mass exodus of the people of the ancient town. He added that the residents acted wisely in view of the horrors unleashed by Boko Haram on the traders at Damasak and others part of the state.

No fewer than 15 local governments in Borno State are currently fully or partly under the insurgents’ control. There are more than 120,000 internally displaced persons across the state.