A source told The Punch in Maiduguri that the insurgents ambushed commercial vehicles plying the highway on Thursday afternoon and abducted many passengers.
One of the travellers, who escaped, said the vehicles were stopped by the insurgents around 1pm, with passengers dragged out and taken away into the bush.
He said the heavily-armed insurgents took position on the highway at Garin-Kuturu near Auno, in the Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State, few kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital.
He said some of them came out of their vehicles and ran back towards Damaturu where they were coming from.
“After the insurgents were cleared off the highways, we trekked back to join them,” he added.
Another traveller said, “We are very close to the scene of the attack, but the sound of gunshots alerted us and our driver reversed the vehicle.”
A credible source within the military told a Punch correspondent, on the telephone that the Nigerian Army engaged the Boko Haram members for about an hour, dispersed them from the highway and escorted travellers into Maiduguri.
