Residents flee Garkida in Adamawa over Boko Haram attacks

By Garba Mohammad
A new wave of ncertainty has enveloped Adamawa border communities as thousands of residents of Garkida in Gombi Local Government have continued to flee their homes for fear of imminent attacks by insurgents . They have said fleeing their home is the only option left for them to escape Boko Haram’s threats .
It could be recalled that some Gunmen suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect on Sallah day attacked Garkida leading to the killing of four soldiers and three other civilians as properties including houses and cars worth billions of naira were destroyed by the insurgents.
The fleeing residents said the only option for them in the wake of another threat by the Boko Haram insurgents was to flee the town in view of the fact that even soldiers deployed to secure the area were being killed with impunity by the gunmen.
A fleeing resident ,Mrs. Na’omi David said since the last Sunday’s attack, their lives have been in turmoil as they have been living in perpetual fear as the insurgents promised to launch another attack very soon.
“As you know, the insurgents have killed soldiers providing security for us. They also burnt down their unit, police station and valuable properties. With the situation we felt no more secured,” one Bako from the area said .
Another fleeing resident, Timothy Micheal also said since the first attack, they were forced to retreat to the mountains as they no more felt secure living in their homes for fear of another attack saying that most of them are exposed to the vagaries of weather which makes their children to be falling sick on daily basis.
He noted that for almost three days, he and his family members have been staying with hunger as food and water have remained very scarce which left the people with no option other than to leave the town for good to avoid being killed by hunger diseases or caught up by the rampaging insurgents.
With the development, Garkida which is one of the economic hubs of Gombi Local Government has now become a ghost of its former self as the town was completely deserted.
Motorcycle operators popularly known as Achaba have had a brisk business as they increased their fares following high demand of their service by the fleeing residents.