PREMIUM TIMES reporter escapes death as terrorists attack motorists on Katsina highway

Wrecked part of Mr Babangida’s car after surviving the terrorist attack

A senior reporter with PREMIUM TIMES newspaper, Mohammed Babangida, on Sunday, miraculously escaped death when suspected terrorists blocked a highway on which he was travelling in Katsina State.

Mr Babangida was returning to Katsina metropolis from Yankara when the terrorists struck a few kilometres to Ruwan Godiya village at about 1:00 p.m.

His vehicle, a Peugeot 406, was hit by the terrorists’ bullets with the passenger’s side badly damaged. The side tyre also burst.

“I was driving with another vehicle behind me when I suddenly ran into them (terrorists). They were six holding rifles. I didn’t notice what was really happening until I saw three or more people lying on the road with one of the terrorists pointing his rifle at them,” Mr Babangida said.

He added that one of the terrorists ran towards his vehicle asking him to stop but he refused. He said in the process he knocked him down.

“I knocked him down. And I could see from the rear mirror when he fell down. As I tried to manoeuvre the steering, one of them started shooting at the tyre and the bonnet. There were other vehicles behind me but only one of them escaped with me.

“One of the terrorists followed us on his motorcycle but because he was alone, he couldn’t aim and shoot. From the spot to Ruwan Godiya village was a journey of about six to seven kilometres. But I told myself that if I stop, this guy will meet us.

“The vehicle behind me soon passed and the people in the vehicle motioned that I should keep going. When I reached Ruwan Godiya, the rim was already damaged. There were two bullet holes on it,” Mr Babangida further narrated.

He said some residents of Ruwan Godiya village helped him to fix the tyre and water radiator.

A resident, who simply identified himself as Auwalu, said the terrorists had been blocking the road for five consecutive days.

“They have been abducting people on the road for five days. You’re just lucky,” he said.

Mr Babangida also said when he arrived at Ruwan Godiya, he alerted a group of soldiers stationed at a primary school in the community and they rushed to the place where the suspected terrorists were operating.

However, they returned to the community 15 minutes later and said the terrorists had fled.

“They would not wait for over ten minutes,” one of the soldiers said just as he joined other residents to sympathise with this reporter. “That’s why we keep missing them. Once they strike, they quickly flee to different directions and it’s hard to get to them,” the soldier said.

Although they were full of lamentations, the residents praised the soldiers for their vigilance in the area.

“If these people (soldiers) are not in this community, the whole road and community will be wiped out. May Allah bring an end to this situation,” one of them said.
(Premium Times)
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