Gwoza: History
In April 2014, residents in Gwoza LGA reported that Boko Haram members fleeing from Sambisa Forest 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." As of January 2014, 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, 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 of Borno State traveled to Gwoza, accompanied by a sizeable military escort, to pay his last respects to the Emir of Gwoza. As of June 2014, 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 2 June 2014, in an event that has been called the Gwoza massacre, "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 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." …