Chibok: Our Encounter With Boko Haram –Hunters

 
Hunters who collaborated with security forces as the Boko Haram attacked and abducted over 200 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, south of Borno have spoken of the April 14 encounter.
They said contrary to claims that Boko Haram had an easy sail while smuggling out the schoolgirls out of their hostels at dawn on April 14, they had fought back with the troops to intercept the insurgents, though the effort did not deter Boko Haram from carrying away the teenagers.
“The military and police actually fired back and we were at their back to give support but they succeeded at that time to move the girls from the school because nobody was expecting they could do such thing especially since all the students were girls,” one of the hunters who participated in the operation revealed in an interview with Sunday Sun.
The hunter, Bulus Mbala (real name not disclosed for security reason) said though they got information the insurgents planned to attack Chibok but they had anticipated a repeat of what “Boko Haram has been doing in other places.”

The battle to foil abduction
While responding to a question on whether the hunters and vigilantes were not on ground when Boko Haram struck on April 14 and why they could not stop the insurgents from kidnapping the schoolgirls, he maintained they were caught unawares.
“We were on ground but the Boko Haram caught us unawares and it was unfortunate. We had information that they may attack our town (Chibok) one day and we actually prepared for them. But the issue is that we weren’t even sure if the information was true or not but all the same, we took it that these guys may come any day and we mapped out our strategies to prevent them from attacking our town. Our attention was on securing the people because we thought they were coming to do what they’ve been doing in other places; shooting or slaughtering people, burning houses, vehicles, shops and carting away food items into their hiding places. We didn’t know they had another plan. We were there in the town and they sneaked into the school, pretended as if they wanted to secure the students. The military and police actually fired back and we were at their back to give support but they had succeeded at that time to move the girls from the school because nobody was expecting they could do such a thing especially since all the students were girls. The attack came in a different way and the Boko Haram kept firing until they left with the girls. It was very sad, we tried to pursue them but it was late. They shot at the soldiers and mobile policemen.”
Another hunter claimed a soldier and a mobile policeman lost their lives in an attempt to foil the attack, adding that the insurgents escaped through the rocky area behind the school premises.

Before the abduction
“We’ve been assisting the security agencies since in the efforts to end this insurgency. Don’t forget the vigilance group here is different from Civilian JTF (youth volunteers). We’re registered with the federal government and the vigilantes here have been operating even before Boko Haram started,” another said.

Hunters to the rescue
The hunters said they were determined to lead the rescue efforts in Sambisa Forest even as they disclosed they had not been contacted either by the government or military authority. “Nobody has contacted us but we’re prepared to lead the rescue operation to locate our daughters. We have what it takes to do so and we’ve been working very hard to ensure we do not allow the Boko Haram come back to Chibok especially with attack on Alagarno in Askira. The military needs information to do their operation and we will do everything possible to assist them with information. This is our land and there is no way the military people can know the terrain more than the people born here. Normally our job is to provide information but we will also be ready to go into the bush because if we don’t fight our enemies now, the enemies will still bring the battle back to us and we won’t have our peace. The situation now is that we need to rescue our daughters but we also need to end this Boko Haram thing because we are not safe even after rescuing the girls. I suspect these people will still continue to attack us.”

God is our strength 
Asked how they intend to tackle the insurgents in Sambisa Forest with high-calibre weapons, the hunters expressed courage in their ability to record victory if given the opportunity, saying they derived their power from God. “Leave that to God. We rely on God and they rely on their guns. Who gave human beings the brain to manufacture these guns? We don’t have guns but we have God who is mightier than gun.”
Source:sunnewsonline.com