An unusual mode of warning by Boko Haram has sparked a massive evacuation of occupants of Giwa and Maimalari military barracks in Maiduguri.
The sect flooded the city with fliers warning of an impending invasion.
Most of the soldiers deployed to Borno State for the anti-terror campaign reside in the barracks,some with their families.
The online publication –First Africa News –reported yesterday that families of the soldiers have vacated the barracks on account of the threat.
The fliers were written in the Hausa language.
They claimed that the invasion will be personally led by the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.
The United States has expressed fears that Maiduguri may be attacked by the sect following its seizure of Bama,about 72 kilometers from the state capital.
Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday that his country was “ very troubled by the apparent capture of Bama and the prospects for an attack on and in Maiduguri, which would impose a tremendous toll on the civilian population,”
The sect has been moving from its Sambisa fortress to the southern part of the state,seizing towns and villages on its route.
Two weeks ago,Boko Haram proclaimed the town of Gwoza, a “caliphate under Islamic law.”
It had earlier in December 2013 attacked the Composite Group Air Force Base in Maiduguri,firing with Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers before troops rallied to repel the terrorists.
Three months later –March 2014 –the rebels returned to the city but this time their target was Giwa Barracks.
The attack was also repelled.