Dozens of soldiers and policemen have reportedly died in the attack by Boko Haram insurgents who took control of the commercial border town of Mubi.
Trapped residents said the insurgents are effectively in control of the town as they hoisted their flags on the military barracks, police area command and the palace of the Emir of Mubi as well as taking over the institutions of higher learning.
Reports from the area also indicate that the insurgents have mounted serious surveillance on the town just as they have imposed a 24-hour curfew in order to consolidate their grip on the place. It was also reported that they have mounted checkpoints and are preventing residents from fleeing the town.
Residents also said the insurgents had burnt down many places, including the town’s main market, shopping malls and other business hubs.
Narrating his ordeal, one of the trapped residents, Dauda Mubi, said the displaced residents were in a pathetic situation as their life hangs in the balance.
“We are now trapped in our houses and cannot not dare to go out for the fear of being shot by Boko Haram. We have started running out of food and water and our fate of survival hangs in the balance.
“Explosions and gun shots have inundated the town since yesterday as soldiers engage the insurgents to protect the hometown of the Chief of Defence Staff,” he said.
Another resident of the area Mr Sani Moses, reported that thick smoke had enveloped the entire town as the insurgents burnt down strategic places in the town in addition to the ongoing battle between the militants and soldiers who made an attempt to recapture the town.
“We can’t sleep; there are bomb explosions and gunshots all over the place as intense fighting between Nigerian troops and insurgents continue. Fighting is still raging in Vimtim, the hometown of Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, and we hear heavy gunfire and explosions,” Moses said.