Boko Haram: Borno residents arm themselves against attack

Following the incessant attacks by the Boko Haram, and the capture of Damboa, GWOZA and recently Ngamboru Ngala and Bank area by the insurgents, residents of Maiduguri, North-East Nigeria, now carry locally made guns freely to protect themselves.

The insurgency has also led to the displacement of thousands in the rural communities.

It is not strange to see youths openly displaying locally made firearms.

DailyPost reports that the creation of the civilian JTF, a vigilante group comprising of young men, who volunteered to protect communities, has further compounded the matter as they are seen all over the city centre carrying locally made guns.

Wary of the need to protect their lives, they argue that it had become necessary to be fully armed at all times.

According to them, the Boko Haram members are too deadly to be taken for granted.

A local community leader, Mohammed Ali, who was also seen carrying firearms, told DailyPost in Hausa that it became necessary given the situation the people found themselves.

When asked how he got his firearm he said, “we made an agreement to purchase these guns and we ordered for them from Damboa, because that is where the gun smiths are.

“I bought this gun for 8000 naira, the government promised to provide one for each of us, but the issue now is that we have to undergo screening before they make the final selection to ascertain those of us that are of clean character before they do so”, he explained.