– Baga town in Borno state was reportedly recaptured by Boko Haram terrorists last week
– No word has been heard yet from about 40 mobile policemen posted to the town before the incident
– A source within the police headquarters said no word has come to them from the missing mobile policemen
A report by Nigerian Tribune indicates that no word has been heard yet from about 40 mobile policemen posted to Baga town when the town was recaptured months back before the recent ransack by the Albarnawi faction of Boko Haram.
According to the report, about 13 conventional policemen may also have been missing in action as no word or signal has been heard from them since Wednesday, December 26, when Boko Baram leader Habib and his factional group stormed the town with a bid to hold it after mounting their flag.
An unnamed source within the police headquarters quoted in the report said, “no word has come to them since Wednesday,”about their men adding that they would rather remain optimistic about the men who went to fight side by side with the soldiers.
“But by the grace of God, we are still expecting them wherever they may be pinned down. Let me assure you that by their training, I believe they should be fine operating on a tactical basis and if need be pin down somewhere and wait for back up from the army before retreating here if need be.
“Indeed we hear that there hàs been casualties but we cannot talk about casualties on our side yet because we have not seen any of them since the attack on Wednesday night .
“Our men are a peculiar group well trained to face any circumstances so we do hope for the best. We cannot enter into any moaning mood now because no word has come yet about their whereabouts which we believe will soon be known,” he said via phone call.
Boko Haram have been using assymetric tactics not known to a large number of the nation’s military and police force.
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram fighters who invaded Buni-Gari, a town in Yobe state, got more than they bargained for when some hunters engaged them in a fierce battle on Sunday, December 30.
A resident of the town said the insurgents struck around 5pm when Nigerian soldiers were not on ground, adding that the hunters succeeded in forcing the insurgents to beat a retreat and return to their base.
Another source said though the insurgents have been sent out of the town, Buni-Gari has been deserted.
“Many have fled to nearby Buni-Yadi over the fear that Boko Haram members might regroup and launch a deadlier attack,” he said.
