Vigilante committees neutralize 5 suicide bombers

Vigilante committes at Bodo-Fotokol succeeded in neutralizing 5 suicide bombers who entered the town and were heading to the market which is mostly busy on week days.

"As a reminder, the market at Bodo is the only functional and busy one in the area since many of the ones in the nearby villages are no longer functional," says Harouna, a local resident.

On December 28, 2015, around 9:30 am intrigued by the accoutrement of two young girls, Abakaka and Mahamat Abali, members of the local vigilante committee, who protected the entrance of the city of Bodo, decided to confront them.

They asked them to stop, and against all odds, the girls refused.

"We were four in the area. Just after two of our colleagues had left to eat, we saw two girls who seemed suspicious. We stopped them, but they did not want to stop or answer our questions. I stood in the middle of the road to block their way. That was before she had her arms crossed over her chest.
When I pretend to shoot an arrow, she dropped her arms, then I heard an explosion that pushed me to the ground," said Mahamat Abali, one of the two members of the vigilante committee.

The first suicide bomber died instantly. The second suicide bomber, who looked confused was on her heels as she was chased by the vigilante group. Unable to catch up, she finally exploded and just like her companion, she died instantly. The explosions, nevertheless, wounded two.

"The Nigerian army has regained control of the district of Ngala and installed its headquarters in Gambarou. All members of the sect were down in the borough of Ngala Balgue which is only separated from the river by Bodo El Beid. We fear the increase of these infiltrations," feared Mahamat, a resident of this village.

Once again, the popular defense committees have played an important role in neutralizing the objectives of Boko Haram, which has launched a series of indiscriminate attacks.

In one week, the number of suicide attacks foiled by the vigilante committees are uncountable. The day before the attacks in Bodo, it was the turn of the locality of Tolkomari, in the district of Kolofata which known for being affected by numerous attacks.

"The female suicide bomber was spotted around 18:45. She was in Kerawa or Bornori but the alarm was raised quickly. The members of the vigilante committees began to question her, she started to run. She was spotted wherever she hid. She changed strategies and began to chase people who were running in different directions. She targeted an old man, a refugee from Abba by name Fougou Yerima and a hairdresser in Tolkomari. These two were wounded in the attack. Naturally, the suicide bomber died," said a member of the local vigilante committee.

Given the increasing number of suicide attacks of Boko Haram, vigilante committees demonstrate daily their effectiveness.

"If we did not have vigilante committees, I dare not even imagine the situation," said an officer in the area.

The December 29, 2015 double attack was recorded in the town of Achigachia. Besides the two suicide bombers, 13 people were injured, including 2 in serious condition.