By Ibrahim Abdul’Aziz
Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri on Sunday visited Garkida in Gombi local government area to commiserate with the people over attacks on the area by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.
The terrorists, infiltrated the town through Bijibiji village Friday evening and started shooting sporadically, burning police barracks, churches and houses and looting pharmaceutical and provision shops.
The Governor visited the affected areas which included the Garkida General Hospital, Garkida Development Area, Church of Brethren, Living Faith Church, Anglican Church, Police Station, some schools and houses and other places that were torched.
At the General Hospital Garkida, the Governor was taken round by an official of the hospital to affected sections such as Consulting Rooms, Accident and Emergency Unit and Pharmacy Main Store, where he was told that the insurgents burnt the hospital Ambulance and another vehicle.
Speaking to journalists shortly after rounding up the assessment, Governor Fintiri described the situation as devastating and thanked the military personnel stationed in the area for their gallant performance during the attack.
He explained that his visit was to commiserate with the people and assess the damages done by the terrorists so that government will soon start rebuilding the area with a view to bringing back normalcy.
He however described the level of damage as huge and appealed to the federal government and development partners to help.
He said his administration would empower more vigilantes to complement the efforts of the military in securing Garkida and the state in general.
Contributing, the Brigade Commander, 23 Armored Brigade Yola, Brigadier General Sani Mohammed confirmed that the soldiers in the area did their best in fighting the insurgents where a soldier lost his life and another one sustained injury.
