Boko Haram kills 43 in Borno villages

•Boko Haram

BOKO HARAM insurgents over-ran some communities in the northeast states of Borno and Yobe, leaving on their trail no fewer than 44 villagers dead.

Monguno, the country home of Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno, who was yesterday named as the new National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Mohammadu Buhari, was among the raided communities.

Borno State Police Commissioner Aderemi Opadokun,who confirmed the fresh attacks,   said the victims were either felled by gunshots, or had their throats slashed by the insurgents.

There were reports that the insurgents rounded up Kalwa, Misala and Gwollam communities, all small settlements under Monguno Local Government Area of Borno State.

Police authorities were not specific on the figure of casualties, but local security sources from Monguno claimed that 43 people were found in their pool of blood on Saturday morning.

In a Short Service Message (SMS), Opadokun said: “Information revealed that gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists invaded Kalwa and Gwollam villages in Monguno Local Government Area; many persons were reported killed and several houses burnt. But we assure the public that patrol is in progress in the said area.”

Bukar Adamu, a member of the Vigilante Group of Nigerian (VGN) in the council area, who fled to Maiduguri, told reporters on phone that “many villages under Monguno Local Government Area are being attacked almost on daily basis”.

He went further said: “Boko Haram terrorists on Friday night attacked Misala and Kalwa, which are two neighbouring villages. The two villages are located not more than 17 kilometre from Monguno town on the way to Marte.

“They operated for hours on that night while setting houses ablaze; at the end of the deadly operation, 43 persons were found dead either killed by gunshots or slaughtered like animals.

“They did not stop there, they also attacked some other villages around the area, but luckily those villages were long deserted; so they went ahead to set the house ablaze.”

Adamu added that the gunmen had attacked Dankyali on Saturday night, even though he could not ascertain the rate of casualty as at the time of filling this report.

“One cannot say immediately if there is any dead or injured casualty in the Dankyali attack of Saturday; it is usually very difficult getting to communicate during attacks because of lack of communication networks”, he said.

Monguno has suffered several deadly attacks in recent time. About two weeks ago, Boko Haram terrorists staged an attack on a village near the town and shot dead 48 persons.

On January, 29, the insurgents launched a major attack on the town and sacked one of the largest military barracks in the area, just as the terrorists were said to have left with huge quantity of arms and ammunition from the barracks.