Boko Haram kills 74 In Borno And Adamawa

 

There seems to no end to the bloodletting by the Boko Haram sect.

The sect’s fighters killed no fewer than 74 people at the weekend in Borno and Adamawa states.

The attacks were launched  few days after the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Bardeh, boasted that the Boko Haram insurgency would be quelled by April.

Assailants armed with guns and explosives killed 22 people in an attack on a Catholic Church on Sunday in Waga Chakawa village in Adamawa State.

They set off bombs and fired shots into the congregation. The insurgents then went ahead to burn houses and took villagers hostage in a four-hour siege, according to witnesses.

A resident identified simply as Mr Apogu said: “They used explosives during the attack on worshipers and many people died. I can’t say actually how many people were killed, but there were more than 40 people in the church and only 10 have survived with serious injuries.”

A survivor said the two policenme guarding the church were among those killed as were women and children.

An Army Public Relations Officer, Captain Jaafaru Nuhu, promised to speak on the matter. But he had not said anything last night. Adamawa State police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim said he could not speak on a security matter since the state was under emergency.

Madagali Local Government Chairman Maina Ularamu confirmed the attack on the church to reporters on the telephone, but could not give the death toll.

Waga Chakawa is a boundary town to Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, where many terrorist attacks have taken place, despite a subsisting state of emergency.

Over 50 gunmen, yesterday, invaded Kawuri District of Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State and set ablaze over 300 residential houses. They killed one soldier, 51 civilians and wounded many policemen.

Injured residents were taken to the Konduga General Hospital and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital where they are receiving treatment.

Kawuri District is one of the big towns in Konduga, on the Maiduguri-Bama Expressway, which is about 60 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.

This is the second time the town has witnessed terror attacks. The first was in October last year, when Boko Haram terrorists clashed with vigilance youths, popularly known as Civilian JTF. 10 people, including three members of the Civilian JTF died. 18 others were injured in that attack in which 48 shops and 200 houses were burnt.

It was gathered that after the attack on Kawuri town by gunmen bearing AK47 rifles, Improvised Explosive Devices and petrol bombs, the assailants fled into the Sambisa forest.

A survivor, Mallam Mustapha Modu, said he counted about 47 bodies on Monday morning while many others sustained gunshots and burnt wounds.

In the last one week, 37 communities of Kwaljiri, Kaya, Ngawo Fate, Limanti, Njaba, Yahuri, Mude, Wala and Alau, among others in Damboa, Konduga and Gwoza Council areas, have all been sacked by terrorists. Displaced residents are taking refuge in neighbouring villages in Cameroon Republic and other towns, including Maiduguri.

Borno State Commissioner of Police Lawan Tanko said: “There has been an attack on Kawuri by the Boko Haram but the number of the dead is yet unknown. However, I know that no policeman was killed but many people sustained injuries. I tried to call the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) but his line was not going through due to poor network.”

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima was getting ready to visit the village, but was advised by the security not to go yesterday because the military was still conducting an operation to flush out the insurgents.

Government House sources said “the governor’s visit to Kawuri has been cancelled because the military has advised against it as they are still conducting a mop-up operation in the area”.

Bulama Kuliri, a resident of the village, said: “I believe more than 50 people have been killed in the attack because the whole village has been razed by the Boko Haram and there were still loud explosions from various directions as I left, with bodies littering the village.”

More than 1,500 people, including women and children, have been killed in the five-year insurgency of the Boko Haram sect.