Mubi, the second largest town in Adamawa State has now been renamed Madinatul Islam by the Boko Haram Islamic sect which captured the town last week after a bloody attack that caused many of the residents in the state to flee.
It was also learnt that the sect had since after making the town its caliphate, amputated 10 people for various offenses and asked Christians in the town to either leave or convert to Islam.
The new name released on Monday further dented the image of the Nigerian military and its defence against allegations that it had always engaged in propaganda, one of which is that it is had taken back some of the seized towns and villages in the affected states of the North-eastern part of Nigeria.
Speaking on telephone with journalists, a resident of the town, Aliyu Bala, who had not been able to escape from the town as at Monday, said the sect members have now mounted check points and surveillance at strategic locations in the town.
“They brandish riffles but they are asking us not to panic or run away,” Bala said.
He said panicking residents do not trust the sect and have thus been fleeing the town secretly.
A lawyer who is resident in Yola, the Adamawa state capital, Sunday Wugira, said even soldiers fled the town when he went to Maiha to pick his parents who had escaped the attack.
He said those he saw fleeing the town were in a pathetic situation.
“We were in a commercial bus when some fleeing soldiers said we must adjust for them to get space in the bus to flee, which we objected to. It’s unfortunate that even soldiers joined civilians to run away,” Wugira said.
Currently, the sect has taken over four local government areas including Michika, Madagali, Mubi North and Mubi South. Vimtim, the hometown of Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, has also been taken over by the sect.
In some of these areas, the sect has been trying to convince the people to continue with their normal lives but have sternly warned politicians and government officials to steer clear of the areas.
They also opened some of the businesses including filling stations they had taken over in the towns.
