Boko Haram fighters late Thursday took over at least three towns in northeast Nigeria , including Chibok , the scene of the April kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by the militant group , residents and a lawmaker said Friday . `` Boko Haram has taken over Chibok and we have all fled , '' said Enoch Mark , a Christian priest in the town whose daughter and niece are among the kidnapped girls . `` They are now in control of the town , having overpowered the soldiers and the vigilantes . '' The militant Islamist group also raided the towns of Hong and Gombi in Adamawa state , 100 kilometers ( about 60 miles ) from Yola , the state capital . Local hunters and vigilantes had pushed them out of Mubi , which lies near Nigeria 's border with Cameroon and is the commercial hub of the state . Boko Haram seized Mubi two weeks ago and renamed the town `` Madinatul Islam '' ( `` City of Islam '' in Arabic ) . The militants began administering strict Sharia punishments , including public floggings and amputations . With the invasion of the towns , the militants inched closer to Yola , where thousands of residents from areas seized by Boko Haram are taking refuge . `` Boko Haram are all over the town firing heavy guns as they patrol the streets , '' said Gombi resident Dahiru Sahabi . `` They have burned down the police station , the local government secretariat and the market‎ after overpowering the police . '' Residents moved indoors or fled into the bush to escape the insurgents , said resident Rabi Tanimu‎ . `` We are all indoors and all we hear is sounds of heavy guns and explosives , '' she said . In Chibok , the town 's vigilantes , who help provide security , were quickly overwhelmed by the firepower of the militants . One resident described Chibok as `` a ghost town '' as most residents fled the violence . The insurgents had earlier raided the town of Hong , where they burned down a police station and hoisted their black flag outside the home of a retired military general , said fleeing residents . Before attacking Hong , the ‎militants , riding in vans and on motorcycles , sacked a military checkpoint at nearby Marabar P‎ella village , where they converged after their ouster from Mubi and Maiha , said Hong resident Luka Buba . Chibado Bobi , chief of staff in the Adamawa governor 's office‎ , confirmed that vigilantes and hunters had recaptured Mubi . `` The state government enlisted the help of the vigilantes and hunters to combat Boko Haram and it is paying off , '' Bobi said.‎ . A resident of Mubi said Boko Haram militants fled the town in droves after the arrival of some 200 vigilantes and hunters , who were armed with homemade guns , spears , clubs , bows and arrows and machetes . The resident , who asked not to be named for personal safety , said hunters captured the ousted occupiers ' leader `` outside the military barracks , which the militants ( had ) converted into their base . '' Vigilantes reportedly reclaimed another town , Maiha , from Boko Haram on Wednesday after a fierce battle in which dozens of militants were killed . The name `` Boko Haram '' translates to `` Western education is sin '' in the local Hausa language . The group has said its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria , which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south . The fate of the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok remains unknown despite an announcement in October that Nigerian officials had reached a ceasefire deal with the group that included the girls ' release . But weeks later , the girls are still missing and the group 's leader has denied ever making such a deal . Also Friday , a suicide bomber killed six people , including three police officers , and injured five others when he blew up his car at a gas station in northern Nigeria 's largest city of Kano , police said . The bomber , who police suspected to be a Boko Haram ‎terrorist , detonated the explosives concealed in his car as he lined up for fuel , Kano State Police Commissioner Adenrele Shinaba told reporters at the scene .
A bomber kills six people in Kano ; Boko Haram suspected . Chibok is among at least three towns attacked by fighters . Boko Haram fighters also overran several towns in Adamawa State , fleeing from there . The militant ' ` ` are all over the town firing heavy weapons , '' one resident says .