Boko Haram abducts 20 more girls in Borno. ..

The Boko Haram sect has reportedly abducted over 20
girls in Lassa, a town in Borno State.
Quoting a member of the community, Daniel Ibrahim,
SaharaReporters stated that the Boko Haram sect also
killed many people, mostly old men and women, before
they kidnapped the women.
SaharaReporters also stated that a security source
confirmed the report.
“They [Boko Haram] abducted more than 20 girls from our
town and killed many people, mostly old men and
women,” the online medium quoted Ibrahim.
Ibrahim, who said he survived the attack, revealed that the
insurgents had been advancing toward Lassa since late
November but had met stiff resistance from local fighters
until Wednesday.
He said the insurgents attacked the town last Wednesday
with a variety of heavy weaponry, including tanks and
explosives. They were finally able to overwhelm the local
opposition and capture the town.
“They burnt almost half of the town before they left. Those
of us who were lucky fled, but they massacred aged ones
and the younger men they could catch,” the source stated.
He said the town fell to the insurgents because the
residents’ appeals to security agencies to deploy more
troops and to step up land and air operations were
ignored.
“That’s why the town is now in the hands of Boko
Haram,” he said.
A senior military officer attached to the 7th Division of the
Nigerian Army based in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno
State, confirmed that the military was aware of the
development in Lassa.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said that
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, has been thrown
into complete blackout as a result of the activities of the
Boko Haram sect.
Government said the major power substation that supplied
electricity to the city had been blown off by the sect on
more than one occasion.
Minister of State for Power, Mr. Mohammed Wakil, said
engineers from the Transmission Company of Nigeria had
fixed the substation and other vandalised installations in
the past, adding that the military had advised the ministry
to refrain from visiting the area as it was a “danger zone.”
The minister spoke to journalists in Abuja.
He said, “If you can recall clearly you will know that the
first local government they (Boko Haram) took over was
Damboa. That is my local government. Now because of
the crossfire they had with the battalion, they ended up in
not only vandalising some of the power installations in the
region but they also burnt the major substation in that city.
“That substation in Damboa is one of the biggest
substations in the North and it links Gombe with
Maiduguri. That led to the collapse of power in Maiduguri
and the city is in blackout. I summoned the TCN and
talked to them that they must restore power in the area.
The TCN mobilised its team and were ready, but that area
is a danger zone.”

Punch.