Gwoza Survivors Protest In Maiduguri Over Govt Abandonment
About 1,000 people gathered to in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Saturday to protest over alleged abandonment by the federal and state governments.
Reportedly, the protesters were largely made up of survivors of Boko Haram attacks on Gwoza, and families of Gwoza residents who are still trapped in the local government.
According to Premium Times, scores of soldiers and armed police officers tried to prevent the protesters from embarking on their rally.
One of the protesters, a young man who is about 26 years of age, was shot allegedly by a police officer, and is at present in critical condition at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
Despite the presence and actions of the security officials, the protesters got to the government house in Maiduguri.
The protesters were allowed to go into the deputy governor’s office, where they insisted on being addressed by the state governor, Kashim Shettima.
While the protesters waited for the governor, his deputy, Zannah Mustapha, arrived to address the angry residents. However, the protesters said they would only listen to the governor.
"We voted for the governor and not his deputy," many of the protesters said in Hausa language.
Some of the protesters yelled while lamenting their situation: "They’ve burned down the entire Gwoza; emir’s palace, local government secretariat, police station. Most people are on top of the Mandara mountains of Gwoza. They are starving."
After Boko Haram attack on Gwoza, residents were forced to go on top of the mountain, which borders Nigeria and Cameroon. The insurgent group later claimed the town for itself and mounted its flag.
On Thursday, the Nigerian military said that it has commenced operations to reclaim Gwoza and other communities claimed by the insurgents.
One of the protesters, who identified himself as Liman Ngoshe, addressed journalist, speaking in Hausa: "They are forced to soak rain water with their clothes and squeeze them for drinking after the rain stops," he said.
He said those trapped had been surrounded at the foot of the mountains by Boko Haram gunmen, as corpses of those killed while trying to climb the mountain still littered the floor of the mountains.
Source: Legit.ng
