“We were only hearing [about] it from afar and never thought it will get to us,” a female student studying at the Federal Polytechnic Mubi recounts.
The unfortunate insurgence caused by the terrorist group called Boko Haram in Mubi, was said to have started on a Tuesday. Mubi is a town in Adamawa state, North East Nigeria.
The female student whose name isn’t disclosed for security reasons shared this:
“We started hearing gunshot on a Tuesday morning while we were still in school and since I and other students within the school premises felt school would be safe, we decided to stay back. Others left, some were making rash decisions because of fear that caused them their lives but I was among the few who stayed calm and waited for news on whether to evacuate the school premises from the school authority. But nothing was said till Thursday afternoon. We had no choice but to leave on our own as the whole of Mubi was no longer safe including our school.
“Few hours after we left, we heard that Boko Haram went into the school. Before we left school in the afternoon, students living off-campus ran into the premises for safety. Some of them had injuries from gunshots by members of the terrorist group. They said some students lost their lives while trying to escape.
“Meanwhile, the house of the Chief of Defense Staff of Nigeria, which is about fifty minutes walk from the Federal Polytechnic Mubi, was destroyed. People were running, helter-skelter. Some students ran as far as Cameroon while others got trapped in bushes in an attempt to hide and save their lives. Mubi market was also burnt down. The sect opened the prison and prisoners were set free. The sect invaded even the military barracks as most military personals ran for their lives.
“As at the time my friends and I were contemplating whether to leave the school premises or not, some military men came into the school but we didn’t know they were military men because they came in disguise. They were the ones who told us that no help was forth coming. We got directions on the path to take through the bushes because the terrorist group had taken over major roads and some villages.
“When we got to the gate of the school, we were surprised at how the roads were. We walked throughout the night and only rested for a while. At dawn, we all deliberated on how to continue the journey without being caught by the terrorists. The two military men [who escorted us] and one of our colleagues made an attempt to check on the situation of the main road. Just was they stepped into the cleared path, a Hilux drove by. It was members of the sect/terrorists.
“They started shooting sporadically, and asked them to come out.
“The rest of us hiding in the farm heard the conversation and froze in fear. I don’t know about the others but I certainly said my last prayer.
“But we didn’t get killed. Out of the blue, an Air Force Chopper hovering over the village distracted the Boko Haram members. Instead of making progress towards us, they started shooting at the chopper. We seized that moment to escape the group.
“How we survived the long journey to Yola is a story for another day. With sore legs and blistered-feet, we survived the Mubi raid. But not everyone did. Not all the students from my school were lucky to return to their families alive.”
Image original by the reporter.