Terrorist sect scared off food sellers, now its members are starving

According to the New York Times, Boko Haram has fallen victim to a food crisis it created.

The sect’s attacks in North-Eastern Nigeria led many residents, including food vendors, farmers and herdsmen, to flee the area leaving the terrorists with no option butto go hungry.

The situation has shaped the pattern of Boko Haram’s recent invasions which see the terrorists attacking towns only for the purpose of stealing foodstuff and livestock instead of the usual trend of killings and abductions.

According to the Times, the hunt for food seems to be the reason why the terrorists are moving deeper into Cameroon.

Matte Bama, a resident of Amchide, a town on Cameroon’s border with Nigeria, told the Times how the terrorists stole livestock during a night attack.

“They started shooting, shooting, shooting. They took our livestock. They took everything and they left,” she said.

The hunger crisis plaguing the sect was confirmed by the spokesman for Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar.

“Their supply routes are blocked. They’re hungry. They have nowhere to go,” General Abubakar said.

Despite the raids however, the sect still can’t seem to find enough food to feed its population, which includes women and children.

This is perhaps the reason why 76 “hungry” members of the sect recently surrendered to the Nigerian military in Gwoza, Borno State. They are also said to have told troops that more members of the sect are ready to surrender.

The disclosure was made to The Associated Press by a military source and a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) on Wednesday, March 2, 2016.

READ: 76 hungry Boko Haram members surrender to military in Borno

The development confirms claims by Information Minister, Lai Mohammed that the terrorists are hungry and confused.

“In essence, the insurgents have been effectively denied territory or sanctuary and are now in disarray,” Mohammed had said on Tuesday, February 16, 2016, during a press conference in Abuja.

READ: Boko Haram terrorists are hungry - Lai Mohammed

“Scattered, demoralized and hungry, they have resorted to terror tactics available to a degraded and defeated insurgent group. The fact that they operate in a few local governments does not equate to holding and controlling territories. We must make that distinction,” he added.

President Muhammadu Buhari also recently said that the sect no longer poses a threat to Nigeria.