Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri

Members of the Boko Haram terrorists have destroyed a facility at a dam near Maiduguri, in Borno State, forcing water from the dam to burst and overflow nearby communities.

Sources said the insurgents destroyed the embankment built to hold back water at Alau Dam near Maiduguri. This forced water out of the dam, bursting into neighbouring communities including Bale Kayamla already deserted by the people following incessant Boko Haram attacks.

Alau Dam located some 15 kilometres southeast of Maiduguri city supplies water to most part of the city through the Maiduguri Water Treatment Plant.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said its emergency response team visited the dam, on Sunday, with the State Emergency Agency (SEMA) for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. It said it got distress calls from people on the situation at the dam.

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“Based on the information gathered on the field, it was one of the dyke  close to one of the deserted communities, Bale Kayamla, that was washed away  creating no threat to other communities.

“The Alau Dam bursts is suspected to be the handiwork of sabotage by insurgents as they were suspected to have destroyed the embankment meant to control the over flow,” NEMA northeast zonal coordinator,  Bashir Garga said in a statement.

He appealed to communities and people around the area to be more vigilant on activities of vandals in the area.