Update: Boko Haram insurgents raid Dadin Kowa in Gombe

Boko Haram militants launched a dawn raid on Dadin Kowa town in Gombe state on Saturday, making the residents scampering for safety into nearby bush.  They were said to have arrived in about 36 Hilux vans and dozens of motorcycles at about 6am shooting sporadically. Dadin Kowa is about 40 kilometers from Gombe town, capital […]

Boko Haram militants launched a dawn raid on Dadin Kowa town in Gombe state on Saturday, making the residents scampering for safety into nearby bush.

 They were said to have arrived in about 36 Hilux vans and dozens of motorcycles at about 6am shooting sporadically. Dadin Kowa is about 40 kilometers from Gombe town, capital of Gombe state. It houses a Federal College of Horticulture  among other public institutions.

Witnesses said the insurgents entered the town with no resistance and were sharing pamphlets containing messages urging residents not to vote in the coming elections.

At about 12 noon, the insurgents were still in the town bugling shops and burning public institutions including the police station. Residents who fled to nearby bush said they were watching from the distance, smokes bellowing from some of the places they had set ablaze.

The soldiers at a checkpoint between the borders of Borno state and Gombe through which the insurgents came were said to have been evacuated since Thursday with no replacement.

This could not be independently verified at the time of filing this report.