NIGER State governor, Abubakar Sani
Bello, confirmed on Monday that Boko Haram insurgents have hoisted their flag
in Kaure village, in Erena township axis of Shiroro Local Government Area of
the state, two hours drive from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, reports the Nigerian Tribune.
According to the report, the governor also said that the Boko
Haram fighters forcefully snatched wives of some of the villagers and married
them. There had been attacks on Niger communities of recent, which were
attributed to bandits. At this point CNN captions the incident "Boko Haram fighters have hoisted flag
and forcefully acquired wives in Nigerian town, governor says" while Arise News drops it as "Abuja Not Safe, Niger Governor Warns
After Boko Haram Hoists Flag ‘Two Hours Drive’ from Nigeria’s Capital"
However, the reports have it that Governor Sani Bello made the revelation
in Minna, when he paid an on-the-spot assessment visit to the internally
displaced persons (IDP) camp at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Primary
School, near the palace of the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Bahago, in Chanchaga
Local Government Area of the state.
The primary school was hurriedly turned to IDP camp after about 5,000 residents were displaced from their ancestral homes by bandits in Shiroro and Sarkin Pawa, in the neighbouring Munya Local Government Area of the state, at the weekend.