FROM HIS STORY IT SEEMS THERE ARE MORE CASUALTIES THAN ESTIMATED.
In an extract from Arabnews com": Yanaye Grema hid for three days
between a wall and his neighbors’ house, as
Boko Haram fighters ransacked his hometown
of Baga on the shore of Lake Chad in
Nigeria’s far northeast.
The 38-year-old fisherman already knew the
attack was serious: He joined civilian
vigilantes to defend the town but their simple
weapons were no match for the militants’
superior firepower.
“People fled into the bush while some shut
themselves indoors,” he said of last Saturday’s
attack.
“The gunmen pursued fleeing residents into
the bush, shooting them dead,” he told AFP
from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.
But it was only after breaking cover on
Tuesday night that he realized the true scale
of the attack, which it is feared may be one of
the worst in the six-year insurgency.
“For five kilometers, I kept stepping on dead
bodies until I reached Malam Karanti village,
which was also deserted and burned,” he said.
Hiding from view between the wall and the
house, behind a roadside stall and the cover
of a thick neem tree, Grema said the
rampaging militants unleashed mayhem. “All I
could hear were ceaseless gunshots,
explosions and screams from people ...,” he
added.
“I remained in my hiding place until Tuesday
evening.
“Every night when it was dark, I would furtively
scale the fence into my house to quickly eat
garri (processed cassava granules) and drink
water and go back to my hide-out.”
His family was not at home. They were in
Kukawa, 40 kilometers away, paying their
respects after Boko Haram killed his wife’s
cousin about two months ago.
“Some of the Boko Haram gunmen camped
outside the Baga main market just 700 meters
from my hideout,” he explained.
“At night I could see lights from the power
generator they ran. I could also hear their
cheering and laughter.
“Luckily on Monday some of the gunmen
withdrew while others stayed in the town. This
reduced their number, which made it difficult
for them to patrol the whole town. It worked
to my advantage.
“On Tuesday they began looting the market
and every home in the town... Around 6:00
p.m. they set fire to the market and began
burning homes. I decided it was time I leave
before they turn in my direction.
“Around 7:30 p.m. I ventured out of my hiding
and started to walk away from the noise
coming from the gunmen. It was dark, so no-
one could see me.”
In the bush, Grema chanced upon an old man
at a nomadic Fulani herdsmen’s settlement,
who advised him to move west to avoid
running into the militants.
“His warning frightened me but made me
more determined to get away. I thanked him
and moved on,” he said. “I quickened my
pace. I soon caught up with... four women.
One of them was carrying a baby on her back.
“They told me they were among hundreds of
women that were arrested by Boko Haram and
detained in the home of the district head
which Boko Haram had converted into a
women’s detention center.”
Three of the women had been separated from
their children, he added. Grema said he
pushed out on his own, as the women were
“too slow,” running and walking throughout
the night, before arriving at Kekeno village
near Monguno, 65km away, the following
morning.
On Thursday, he took a bus from Monguno to
Maiduguri.
“I will never forget this experience and I will
forever be grateful to the old Fulani nomad for
his life-saving advice,” he added.
Your Comments Are What Shows Us How You Feel About The Topic. Join us on Facebook http://facebook.com/nigeriannewsreporters and Twitter @ngnewsreporters