Boko Haram Captures Emirate, As Whereabouts Of Gwoza Emir Still Unknown

Security agents as well as residents of Gwoza, a community in Borno State that was overrun earlier yesterday by Islamist insurgents, have disclosed that the whereabouts of the town’s traditional ruler remain unknown. Boko Haram, captured Gwoza in a daring raid that saw Nigerian soldiers retreating in great haste.
According to sources, nobody knows about the present location of the newly installed Emir of Gwoza, Mohammed Timta. 
An Abuja-based relative of the Emir told SaharaReporters that neither he nor other members of the family had been able to establish contact with the traditional ruler, whose father and predecessor, Shehu Mustapha Idris Timta, was killed on May 30, 2014 by the same Boko Haram sect as he was on his way to Gombe State to attend the funeral of the late Emir of Gombe, Shehu Abubakar. The relative said he had been unable to reach any member of the family except those who reside in Maiduguri. “None of them has any idea about where the emir is,” he said.

Boko Haram fighters are reportedly holding their ground in Gwoza after capturing it Wednesday morning. Nigerian military troops were yet to make any advance towards the town to try to recapture it, said a military source. He explained that the troops have to be well equipped and develop a proper strategy before launching any attacks to seize back Gwoza.

The security source revealed that several hundred Boko Haram insurgents stormed Gwoza in military tanks, vans as well as bikes, many of them armed with sophisticated weapons. Hundreds of displaced residents of Gwoza have crossed over to Cameroon where they are seeking refuge as the militants have blown up two bridges connecting Gworza to Nigeria