Gwoza is a
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of
Borno State
Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon, its northern borde ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. Its headquarters are in the town of Gwoza, a border town "about 135 kilometres South-East of
Maiduguri
Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the ''Firki'' swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maiduguri was founded in 1907 as a mi ...
."
The
postal code
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal ...
of the area is 610.
The terrain is rocky and hilly.
The Gwoza Hills, with heights of about 1300m above sea level provides scenery and is made up of the
Mandara Mountains
The Mandara Mountains are a volcanic range extending about 190 km (about 120 mi) along the northern part of the Cameroon–Nigeria border, from the Benue River in the south () to the north-west of Maroua in the north (). The highest e ...
, which form a natural barrier between Nigeria and
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...
, starting from Pulka. They overlook the game reserves by meandering towards
Mubi and beyond in
Adamawa State
Adamawa state () is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It tak ...
.
The Gwoza LGA has been called "a notorious hide out for the
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
insurgents,"
who arrived in the area in 2009 from
Maiduguri
Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the ''Firki'' swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maiduguri was founded in 1907 as a mi ...
. The area has suffered considerable violence as a result of the
Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the militant Islamist and jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict is taking place within the context of long-standing iss ...
, and in 2014, saw an influx of Boko Haram fighters fleeing
Sambisa Forest
The Sambisa Forest is a forest in Borno State, northeast Nigeria. It is in the southwestern part of Chad Basin National Park, about 60km southeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. It has an area of 518 km².
Geography
The Sambisa fore ...
.
, "reports indicated that the whole of Gwoza was under attack. The report could not be substantiated because most telephone masts in Gwoza and surrounding villages have been vandalized by insurgents."
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service cons ...
reported that "Roads out of the region are extremely dangerous and phone connections are poor to nonexistent."
As of 19 October 2014, an estimated 3,000 Gwoza residents displaced by fighting are "squatting on the fringes of
Abuja
Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plan ...
", according to a local relief committee spokesman, with "the need for shelter, food, clothing and medicare for the displaced also becoming dire."
On 27 March 2015, the day before the
Nigerian presidential election, the
Nigerian Army
The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army.
History Formation
The Nigerian ...
announced that it had recaptured the town of Gwoza from Boko Haram.
According to AllAfrica.com, "Gwoza, one of the largest towns in Borno, fell under the control of Boko Haram terrorists on August 6, 2014."
History
In April 2014, residents in Gwoza LGA reported that
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
members fleeing from
Sambisa Forest
The Sambisa Forest is a forest in Borno State, northeast Nigeria. It is in the southwestern part of Chad Basin National Park, about 60km southeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. It has an area of 518 km².
Geography
The Sambisa fore ...
had moved into their towns on motorcycles, "being spotted in Patawe, Fadagwe, Wala, Uvaha, Gatha, Jige, Warabe and Ngoshe" villages. Motorcycles had been banned throughout Borno State for almost two years, and were rarely used by non-Boko Haram members.
According to House of Representatives member, Hon. Peter Biye Gumtha, since the beginning of the Boko Haram attacks, "over 200 churches have been completely razed down, leaving only 8 functional churches in the whole of Gwoza Council area." , Biye was "the only Christian House of Representatives member from Borno State."
He remarked:
“What is happening in my constituency is very unfortunate and frightening. People are being killed by terrorists on a daily basis, Churches are being burnt, and if people like me who is also a member of the House Committee on Army, alerted military authorities based on intelligence reports that my village would be under attack by terrorists, and nothing was done to secure the area, then it is unfortunate, because the ordinary people that live in volatile areas are no longer safe and protected by our security outfits.
On 30 May 2014, the traditional ruler, the Emir of Gwoza,
Idrissa Timta
Shehu Mustapha Idrissa Timta (1942 – May 30, 2014) was a Nigerian traditional leader who served as the 3rd Emir of Gwoza from October 1981 until his death in May 2014. He was killed in an attack by Boko Haram terrorists on May 30, 2014.
He was ...
, was killed after he was abducted with his colleague, the Emir of Uba, Ismaila Mamza, by armed men, in
Hawul LGA.
"His convoy was ambushed while he was on the way to attend the funeral of his deceased colleague, the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar."
Governor
Kashim Shettima
Kashim Shettima Mustapha (born 2 September 1966) is a Nigerian banker and politician who has served as Senator for Borno Central since 2019. He previously served as the Governor of Borno State from 2011 to 2019. A member of the All Progressives ...
of Borno State traveled to Gwoza, accompanied by a sizeable military escort, to pay his last respects to the Emir of Gwoza. , the Maiduguri-Bama road to Gwoza has been designated a "no-go zone" due to an "upredictable security situation". A journalist accompanying the Emir counted "16 towns, villages and hamlets that were completely deserted along the 135km road." In his eulogy, Governor Shettima described the late Shehu Idrissa Timta as “a man who spent better part of his reign preaching peace and tolerance.”
On 12 June 2014, Idrissa Timta's son, Muhammad Timta, (also called Alhaji Muhammad Shehu) became the new Emir of Gwoza. He "promised to unite and strengthen the relationship between Christians and Muslims in the area."
On June 2, 2014, in an event that has been called the
Gwoza massacre
The Gwoza massacre was a terrorist event that occurred on 2 June, 2014 in the Gwoza local government district, Borno State near the Nigerian-Camerounian border.
Militants (presumably from Boko Haram) dressed as soldiers slaughtered hundreds o ...
, "No fewer than 300 villagers were reportedly killed in three communities around Gwoza local government area of Borno State" by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram. "The militants arrived in
Toyota Hilux
The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although the ...
pickup trucks - a common vehicle for the military - and told civilians they were soldiers there to protect the local population ... The gunmen reportedly gathered people in the center of the villages and fired on them. As people attempted to flee, militants on motorcycles waited outside the villages and attacked them."
On 8 June 2014, the spokesperson for a group of religious and political leaders in Gwoza LGA, Dr Asabe Vilita, (also Borno Commissioner for Commerce and Investment), said:
“ wish to state categorically clear that there is no outbreak of religious war in our communities in Gwoza as being speculated, especially in the social media. What our people are facing is full-scale insurgents’ attack and terrorism. Although sometimes people have disagreements due to the confusion caused by the attacks in different areas, our people have since identified the insurgents as common enemy and have decided to unite in fighting them.”
She said 1,290 people had been displaced, and that "most people had to escape to
Maiduguri
Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the ''Firki'' swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maiduguri was founded in 1907 as a mi ...
", where three camps have been set up. According to Vilita, "four of the six communities in Gwoza East are currently under siege by the insurgents": Ngoshe, Agapalwa, Ashigashiya and Cikide.
On 22 June 2014,
The insurgents were said to have taken over most outskirts of Gwoza including the towns of Pulka and Kirawa, forcing residents to flee into neighboring Cameroon villages of Mura and Marwa, some 75km away from Nigeria borders.
On 24 August 2014,
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
claimed that it had formed an Islamic caliphate in Gwoza town. In December 2014, one hundred eighty five people in the Gumburi village area were kidnapped by Boko Haram. It was also reported that "people too elderly to flee Gwoza Local Government Area were being rounded up and taken to two schools where the militants opened fire on them." Over 50 elderly people were killed. A "gory video" was released of insurgents shooting over a hundred civilians in a school dormitory in the town of
Bama
Bama or BAMA may refer to:
Places
* Bama, shortened form of Alabama, a state of the United States of America
** The University of Alabama, the public university serving the state, often known as simply ''Bama''
* Bama, one of the colloquial Burm ...
.
In March 2015, the Nigerian army was reported to have retaken Gwoza town from Boko Haram forces.
[
]
Towns
* Gwoza, the headquarters of Gwoza LGA
* Kirawa
* Pulka
* Ashigashiya
* Ngoshe
Villages
* Agapalawa
* Amuda
* Arbako
* Ashigashiya
* Attagara
* Barderi
* Barawa
* Cineni
Cineni is a village in Gwoza, Borno State, Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is s ...
* Cikide (Chikide)
* Gava
* Guduf
* Hirdembeh
* Izghe
Izghe is a village in Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State, Nigeria.
An massacre by Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والج ...
* Joghode
* Kaghum
* Kerawa (Kirawa)
* Kundeh
* Kwatara
* Pelekwa
* Nggoshe
* Ngoshe
* Pulka
* Sabon Gari
* Vale
Languages
Central Kanuri language,[ at ''Ethnologue''] Cineni language
Cineni is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Borno State, Nigeria in the single village of Cineni. In a 2006 paper, Roger Blench
Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropolog ...
,[ at ''Ethnologue''] Dghwede language, Glavda language,[ at ''Ethnologue''] Guduf-Gava language
Guduf-Gava (also known as Gudupe, Afkabiye) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Borno State, Nigeria. In a 2006 paper, Roger Blench
Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthrop ...
,[ at ''Ethnologue''] Gvoko language
Gvoko (also known as Gevoko, Ghboko, Gavoko, Kuvoko, Ngossi, Ngoshi, Ngoshe-Ndhang, Ngweshe-Ndaghan, Ngoshe Sama, Nggweshe) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Borno State, Nigeria and Far North Province, Cameroon.
In Cameroon, Gevoko is spok ...
,[ at ''Ethnologue''] Lamang language, Mafa Language
Mafa is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon and Northern Nigeria by the Mafa people.
The term ''Matakam'' is traditionally seen as pejorative.
Dialects
Mafa is widely spoken in the department of Mayo-Tsanaga from Mokolo to the ...
and Waja language[ at ''Ethnologue''] are spoken in Gwoza LGA.
See also
*Gwoza massacre
The Gwoza massacre was a terrorist event that occurred on 2 June, 2014 in the Gwoza local government district, Borno State near the Nigerian-Camerounian border.
Militants (presumably from Boko Haram) dressed as soldiers slaughtered hundreds o ...
* Izghe attack
References
{{LGAs of Borno State
Local Government Areas in Borno State
Populated places in Borno State