Gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect yesterday bombed a major highway bridge along the Maiduguri-Biu Road in Borno State, eyewitnesses and security operatives have said.
Members of the sect had after their major offensive on a military outpost in Damboa, 85km away from Maiduguri, took control of the Maiduguri – Biu Road, thus making it impossible for both civilians and military personnel to ply the route.
According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen had blasted one of the three bridges on the way to Biu near a village called Sabongari immediately after Damboa town.
Commenting on the issue, the Borno State spokesman of the Nigeria Vigilante, Abba Gava, said, “They bombed the bride when they attacked a hamlet very close Sabongari; the bridge had now collapsed and it is impossible for vehicles to cross over the bride from either side. From the accounts of our vigilante members in that area, the gunmen also killed some unspecified number of persons in the village before using explosives to bring the bridge down.”
The Maiduguri – Biu Highway Bridge would be fourth major bridges that had been blown up by the Boko Haram since the beginning of this year.
It could be recalled that the first bridge to be bombed was the one along the Gamboru-Ngala – Maiduguri international route, then followed by the bombing of the Gwoza-Bama Road Bridge, then the bridge linking Adamawa and Borno states was also bombed at Pulka town of Borno State.
The four destroyed bridges have now made access to Sambisa Forest very difficult from all directions, as most vehicles moving to the area would have to contend with crossing over the damaged bridges.
Source: Leadership
