Loads of bags of rice procured by the World Food Programme, WFP, and intended for the IDP camps in Bornu State were Friday hijacked by suspected members of the Boko Haram group.
Maigari Bala, a driver, who witnessed the incident, told TheCable that the insurgents struck in the Damboa road axis of the ancient town.
“They laid siege on the road around 3 pm this afternoon. They seized a truck loaded with rice which was meant for distribution at an internally displaced person (IDPs), camp in Damboa,” he said.
“We took to our heels when we saw them in a very large number. They were shooting everywhere and chanting ‘Allahu Akhbar’.”
Bala said the insurgents did not kill anyone but were only interested in the foodstuff.
Bashir Isa, another driver, who was on his way from Biu, a community still in Borno, expressed how lucky he was for not running into the armed men.
“On a normal day, they would have killed everyone in sight, but this time around, they came for food,” he said.
“I thank God that I didn’t run into him.
WFP is the food assistance branch of the United Nations (UN) and the world’s largest humanitarian organisation addressing hunger.
It has been distributing food items to IDPs and other vulnerable groups in the state worst hit by insurgency.