Nigeria's Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram, has seized Chibok, the northeast town from which the insurgents kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls in April, a local official stated.
Local government chairman Bana Lawan on Friday told AP that thousands of residents are "just trying to escape with their lives."
Lawan says the fighters took Chibok on Thursday afternoon.
As stated by reports, some of the kidnapped girls escaped in the first couple of days after their capture from a boarding school outside the town, but 219 remain missing.
Boko Haram has taken control of several towns since the military announced a cease-fire on Oct. 17.