By Bala Ajiya, Yobe

DAMATURU- The relative peace enjoyed by citizens of Damaturu after the previous attacked that took place on November 4th 2011 which rendered many people homeless was abruptly shattered on Thursday 22nd December when  twin explosions went off followed by sporadic gun shots.

Damaturu, capital of Yobe State is about 125kms away from Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, has served as a refugee camp for most of the people that ran away from Maiduguri because of the Boko Haram upsurge. But observers knew and have expressed their feelings regarding Damaturu being a time bomb due to the mass exodus of people.

Boko Haram engaged the military and the police in the gun battle duel for almost 24 hours. The old Pompomari ward by-pass residents witnessed the battle as many innocent souls were lost and over 60 people were maimed. The military and some Boko Haram lost members too

Being a small town, immediately after almost 24 hours of the gun battle, residents started scampering for their safety, relocating to their various local government and other states. Today, as the new year approaches, Damaturu has become a ghost city .

When Saturday Vanguard went around the metropolis, it was observed that Damaturu that used to be a bobbling peaceful city has been deserted virtually by most people. Every nook and cranny of the town is deserted except for some security

Bomb Blast

agents that mounted strategic locations in the town.

When Saturday Vanguard spoke to one of the residents of Pompomari area, Mallam Mohammed Ibrahim who was very close to the scene of the bomb blast, he said he would have fled but he has no place to go to. “I was able to survive the gun battle that lasted for several hours and a lot of people were maimed and killed by stray bullets. Security agents were also killed. A lot of innocent people also died which made thousand of youths and residents flee”.

After the attacks, the state government has been compelled to impose dusk – to- dawn curfew in order to subside the security situation and curb potential attacks. But Mr. Joseph Adamu, an IT expert resident in Damaturu thinks otherwise saying , “the curfew has brought a lot of untold hardship on the masses. Salaries were not paid on schedule to civil servants.”

The Christmas rush, coupled with this horrible incident brought a lot of suffering on the people. The government is supposed to review the curfew a little so that people can go out and earn their living and also feel like real citizens of the country because the masses are always at the receiving end whenever there is any sort of crisis .

So, government should recruit more men and military into the police because at present, Nigeria cannot boast of 3 million policemen and how do you expect this 3 million to police over 160million population in the country? Also, the Yobe state government should urgently set up an adhoc committee that would look into the havoc wrecked by Boko Haram and find a way to compensate all those people who lost their lives and properties in the deadly attack.”

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the state government is yet to provide succour to the victims by providing them with a temporary camp and other essential needs that may be required by them.