Bama is a once-thriving town in Borno State, which was seized by Boko Haram insurgents but fortunately has been recently liberated by Nigerian troops.
Correspondents of Weekly Trust spoke to survivors and security sources and found out their tragic and horrifying stories.
The liberation of Bama has become an addition to many other towns and villages reclaimed by the Nigerian military forces and regional allies from Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
According to survivors and youth vigilantes, the insurgents were furious that Bama was taken away from them, triggering large-scale violence before they were finally subdued on March 16, 2015.
“When the terrorists realized that Nigerian troops had perfected plans to route them in Bama, they went haywire, in an incomprehensible way,” said Bishara Amadu, a 62-year-old truck driver, who was held hostage for nearly six months.
“Bama is gone, all the beautiful structures in town are gone, markets and stalls burnt, filling stations vandalized and bridges destroyed,” he added.
Amadu said that Boko Haram fighters were not ready to leave Bama because of its strategic importance for food and arms supplies from Libya through Chad and Cameroon.
According to the 2006 census, Bama has a population of 269,986, but experts believe that it increased significantly in the last ten years. It happened because of numerous advantages, including fertile land for agriculture and its closeness to Cameroon Republic through the Banki, a border town between the two countries.
However, since September the population of the town has declined significantly following the onslaught by the Boko Haram sect. Within the period under review, residents who could not flee were held hostage, with young men killed, middle-aged women deployed for domestic work and young women forcefully taken as ‘brides’.
Weekly Trust made known that a few days before the liberation of Bama, the terrorists had shown some resistance and engaged Nigerian troops in a fierce battle at Boboshe village in nearby Dikwa Local Government Area and Yale village in Konduga Local Government area.
“[Boko Haram] was roundly defeated at both fronts and out of anger and frustration, survivors among them went back to Bama and commenced mass-killings and destruction,” said Abu Jalo, another survivor.
He added that the terrorists destroyed sources of water such as boreholes and wells. “It was a complete clampdown, as the insurgents said everybody must lose,” he said.
According to security sources, it was an uphill task to recover Bama, as it was laced by mines and other explosive ordinances and booby traps.
“If not for the latest equipment procured, Bama will never have been recovered because no-one would dare enter the area,” a source familiar with the operation said.
Most fleeing residents said they were kept in make-shift cells, the emir’s palace and other locations, which are now in ruins. Former captives disclosed that while hundreds of the insurgents have been killed in Bama, those who survived have moved to Gwoza.
Weeks before the recent happenings in Bama, an undated video clip, circulated by youths in Maiduguri. It showed how the insurgents forced their captives to lie down in a school dormitory, then they executing the victims. The commander who led the execution looking into a camera justified the act, saying that during ‘religious crusades’ warriors have the option of keeping or killing their hostages.
“This is Bama. We don’t have the luxury of keeping our captives for now because we are still embarking on territorial conquest. Our religion permits us to kill whoever we caught or to keep him if we feel like…We would remain subservient to our leader (Abubakar Shekau) and will keep on accomplishing his commands,”he said.
It would be reminded that when it was evident that they would lose Bama, dozens of terrorists slaughtered their own wives, claiming they would “meet again in heaven”.
Jamta Bukar, 60, said she lived all her life in Bama and when the insurgents took over the town in September, 2014, she decided not to leave. As a result, she witnessed many cruel acts.
“But I don’t think they ever believed their empire could be crushed. They had everything, a chain of command, including judges, imams and administrators,”the woman said.
Alhaji Awacha Damga, who was living in Bama for seven months when it was under Boko Haram control, said:
“Life with Boko Haram was chaotic, no law, just complete anarchy. It was all like a bad dream, thinking we would be freed but never being lucky. When they invaded the town they were a little bit friendly to the trapped ones, saying all will enjoy everything, and we should not panic because we would be under Sharia system. They, however, threatened that if we ever attempt to escape, life would be worse there because they would definitely take over the city. We gave up, tired, hungry and sometimes sick.”
“They beheaded more than thirty men within the area where I lived, because initially, residents thought it was a thing of one or two days, so they hid in their homes, but they were later discovered and beheaded in a most gruesome manner. Since I was born, I’d never witnessed humans being slaughtered. And if a victim attempts to run, there was nowhere to go, as the terrorists were many. Apart from the elderly, no-one was allowed to go home. They force women to marry them and the teenagers to join their crusade of violence,” he added.
Hussaina Bakura, a mother of two who escaped from Bama within the week, said that the terrorists had fed them with stolen foodstuff. Medicines were not available, that is why one of her children died of malaria.
“They actually controlled Bama for several months but it was clearly not easy for them managing captives, as they encountered many challenges in getting food, drugs and even fuel for their vehicles.
“Many people died from minor ailments because there were few health personnel, who were also kept in Bama under duress,” she said.
Lantana Mansur, 27, confessed that she was feeling that the occupation of Bama would not last long.
“I knew the insurgents could not hold on to the town for too long because supply was cut off and even some people from among their ranks had given up, conceding that there was no way they could survive the resultant isolation,” she said.
Meanwile, President Goodluck Jonathan has recently made a surprising claim. In his interview with the BBC he stated that it might take Nigerian soldiers “within a month” to recapture towns seized by Boko Haram insurgents in the northern part of the country.Bama is a once-thriving town in Borno State, which was seized by Boko Haram insurgents but fortunately has been recently liberated by Nigerian troops.
Correspondents of Weekly Trust spoke to survivors and security sources and found out their tragic and horrifying stories.
The liberation of Bama has become an addition to many other towns and villages reclaimed by the Nigerian military forces and regional allies from Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
According to survivors and youth vigilantes, the insurgents were furious that Bama was taken away from them, triggering large-scale violence before they were finally subdued on March 16, 2015.
“When the terrorists realized that Nigerian troops had perfected plans to route them in Bama, they went haywire, in an incomprehensible way,” said Bishara Amadu, a 62-year-old truck driver, who was held hostage for nearly six months.
“Bama is gone, all the beautiful structures in town are gone, markets and stalls burnt, filling stations vandalized and bridges destroyed,” he added.
Amadu said that Boko Haram fighters were not ready to leave Bama because of its strategic importance for food and arms supplies from Libya through Chad and Cameroon.
According to the 2006 census, Bama has a population of 269,986, but experts believe that it increased significantly in the last ten years. It happened because of numerous advantages, including fertile land for agriculture and its closeness to Cameroon Republic through the Banki, a border town between the two countries.
However, since September the population of the town has declined significantly following the onslaught by the Boko Haram sect. Within the period under review, residents who could not flee were held hostage, with young men killed, middle-aged women deployed for domestic work and young women forcefully taken as ‘brides’.
Weekly Trust made known that a few days before the liberation of Bama, the terrorists had shown some resistance and engaged Nigerian troops in a fierce battle at Boboshe village in nearby Dikwa Local Government Area and Yale village in Konduga Local Government area.
“[Boko Haram] was roundly defeated at both fronts and out of anger and frustration, survivors among them went back to Bama and commenced mass-killings and destruction,” said Abu Jalo, another survivor.
He added that the terrorists destroyed sources of water such as boreholes and wells. “It was a complete clampdown, as the insurgents said everybody must lose,” he said.
According to security sources, it was an uphill task to recover Bama, as it was laced by mines and other explosive ordinances and booby traps.
“If not for the latest equipment procured, Bama will never have been recovered because no-one would dare enter the area,” a source familiar with the operation said.
Most fleeing residents said they were kept in make-shift cells, the emir’s palace and other locations, which are now in ruins. Former captives disclosed that while hundreds of the insurgents have been killed in Bama, those who survived have moved to Gwoza.
Weeks before the recent happenings in Bama, an undated video clip, circulated by youths in Maiduguri. It showed how the insurgents forced their captives to lie down in a school dormitory, then they executing the victims. The commander who led the execution looking into a camera justified the act, saying that during ‘religious crusades’ warriors have the option of keeping or killing their hostages.
“This is Bama. We don’t have the luxury of keeping our captives for now because we are still embarking on territorial conquest. Our religion permits us to kill whoever we caught or to keep him if we feel like…We would remain subservient to our leader (Abubakar Shekau) and will keep on accomplishing his commands,”he said.
It would be reminded that when it was evident that they would lose Bama, dozens of terrorists slaughtered their own wives, claiming they would “meet again in heaven”.
Jamta Bukar, 60, said she lived all her life in Bama and when the insurgents took over the town in September, 2014, she decided not to leave. As a result, she witnessed many cruel acts.
“But I don’t think they ever believed their empire could be crushed. They had everything, a chain of command, including judges, imams and administrators,”the woman said.
Alhaji Awacha Damga, who was living in Bama for seven months when it was under Boko Haram control, said:
“Life with Boko Haram was chaotic, no law, just complete anarchy. It was all like a bad dream, thinking we would be freed but never being lucky. When they invaded the town they were a little bit friendly to the trapped ones, saying all will enjoy everything, and we should not panic because we would be under Sharia system. They, however, threatened that if we ever attempt to escape, life would be worse there because they would definitely take over the city. We gave up, tired, hungry and sometimes sick.”
“They beheaded more than thirty men within the area where I lived, because initially, residents thought it was a thing of one or two days, so they hid in their homes, but they were later discovered and beheaded in a most gruesome manner. Since I was born, I’d never witnessed humans being slaughtered. And if a victim attempts to run, there was nowhere to go, as the terrorists were many. Apart from the elderly, no-one was allowed to go home. They force women to marry them and the teenagers to join their crusade of violence,” he added.
Hussaina Bakura, a mother of two who escaped from Bama within the week, said that the terrorists had fed them with stolen foodstuff. Medicines were not available, that is why one of her children died of malaria.
“They actually controlled Bama for several months but it was clearly not easy for them managing captives, as they encountered many challenges in getting food, drugs and even fuel for their vehicles.
“Many people died from minor ailments because there were few health personnel, who were also kept in Bama under duress,” she said.
Lantana Mansur, 27, confessed that she was feeling that the occupation of Bama would not last long.
“I knew the insurgents could not hold on to the town for too long because supply was cut off and even some people from among their ranks had given up, conceding that there was no way they could survive the resultant isolation,” she said.
Meanwile, President Goodluck Jonathan has recently made a surprising claim. In his interview with the BBC he stated that it might take Nigerian soldiers “within a month” to recapture towns seized by Boko Haram insurgents in the northern part of the country.
