Tension Heightened In Borno Community As Boko Haram Commander Issues Fresh Threat

Tension Heightened In Borno Community As Boko Haram Commander Issues Fresh Threat

By Shalom Oludele

Residents of Banki, a border town in Bama local government area of Borno State, are living in fear following a deadly threat issued by a suspected Boko Haram commander identified as Mulwuta.

According to local sources, Mulwuta warned that if the people of Banki fail to “repent” by the start of Ramadan, they would be “sl@ughtered like goats.” This chilling message has sparked widespread anxiety in the community, which has endured repeated attacks from insurgents in the past.

Counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, in a report on Sunday, noted that the threat has heightened tensions among residents. However, some members of the community remain defiant, dismissing the threat and recalling their resilience during the reign of the notorious Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

“Even when Shekau was alive, the town did not fall to the terrorists,” one resident remarked, expressing confidence in the community’s strength.

Borno State, located in Nigeria’s North East region, has been the epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency for over a decade, with communities like Banki often bearing the brunt of the violence.