Boko Haram capture Chibok town.

Boko Haram militants have reportedly seized the north-eastern Nigerian town of Chibok, the home of more than 200 schoolgirls the insurgents kidnapped in April, residents who fled have told the BBC.

Militants attacked and took control of the town, in Borno state, on Thursday evening, residents said.

The militants have repeatedly targeted villages around Chibok over recent months.

Boko Haram says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

A senator for Borno state, Ali Ndume, told the BBC Hausa service that security forces posted in the town ran away when the insurgents attacked.

Residents told the Sahara Reporters news website that the militants headed to the centre of Chibok and declared that they were taking it over as part of their caliphate.

The schoolgirl kidnappings in Chibok caused worldwide outrage and sparked a social media campaign.

Since then people have complained that the area was not well protected and many residents of Chibok had already moved to safer parts of the country, fearing another attack.

The BBC’s Will Ross reports from Nigeria that the military has repeatedly failed to defend towns and villages in the north-east, allowing Boko Haram to steadily expand the area they control.

The crisis in Nigeria is deepening every week, but politicians appear more focused on next year’s elections, our correspondent says.

Source: BBC