— 20 more murdered in Borno
— Lagos govt trains police on counter-terrorism
By Ibrahim Abdul’Aziz, Yola, and
Ime Akpan, Lagos
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen at the weekend attacked two villages in Madagali local government area of Adamawa state, killing dozens and burning houses in a pattern of violence that had become almost a daily occurrence, local officials and witnesses have said.
Blueprint gathered that the two attacks on villages took place on Saturday night and early hours of Sunday in remote parts of Gubla and Wagra during which dozens were feared killed and others injured as hundreds fled.
Those injured, including a soldier, were promptly taken to Gulak Hospital where some were said to have died.
Some residents of the affected villages, who fled the area, said they were attacked by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members.
“They used explosives during the attack on the houses and many people lost their lives. I saw at least thirteen corpses littered on the ground,” as one of the residents, who identified himself as Apogu Heldia said, adding, “I cannot actually say how many people were kill but I saw about ten dead bodies were evacuated and five others died at hospital.”
Another resident claimed that some houses were also attacked by the gunmen who took some men as hostages.
“I saw some people crying, saying their relations had been taken away as hostages by the gunmen,” the resident, who craved anonymity, said.
The insurgents had on Saturday night attacked a military base at Gubla and later burnt down an armoured tank, though some of the attackers were said to have been nabbed.
Efforts to get military and police authorities to comment on the incident did not yield result at the time of filing this report, but the Chairman of Madagali local government area, James Abawu Watharda, confirmed the two attacks, though he could not give details of those who lost their lives during the attacks.
Watharda said soldiers had sealed up the area and were hunting for the fleeing attackers, adding, “People were killed, and some houses were set ablaze by the attackers, while all the villagers have fled.”
Madagali local government area borders Gwoza local government area of Borno state, which had experienced a series of insurgent attacks since the declaration of the state of emergency.
Also, no fewer than 20 people were reported killed on Sunday in an attack carried out by suspected members of Boko Haram in Kamuyya village of Biu local government area of Borno state.
Blueprint gathered that the insurgents intensified their bloody attacks in the rural areas and over 100 villagers had reportedly lost their lives and property within the last one week.
It would be recalled that the latest attack happened in the afternoon when dozens of Boko Haram insurgents, armed with rifles and explosives, invaded a weekly market in Kamuyya and killed 20 villages.
Some residents of the village told Blueprint that the insurgents had visited the town about two months ago and asked the village head to mobilise his subjects to contribute the sum of N250,000 for them in order to execute “God’s work.”
Blueprint gathered that the villagers, mostly peasant farmers and petty traders, had only managed to raise the sum of N70,000, which angered the insurgents.
It was reported that the situation threatened the insurgents and made them to return and collect the balance of the money they earlier demanded while warning the community to either comply with their demand within a stipulated period or face a deadly attack.
“Actually when they issued such threat, we all took it lightly as we are all relaxed and nobody bothered to make any extra effort to put in the amount they requested. Maybe that was what ignited this bloody attack because we were unable to meet their demand.”
Umara said the attack occurred where over 20 Boko Haram insurgents, suspected to have emerged from the bush, stormed the village market and opened fire on the crowd before setting some shops and vehicles ablaze.
He said the attackers, armed with sophisticated weapons, raided the area and proceeded to the major market and began shooting sporadically into the direction of the crowd, killing no fewer than 20 people on the spot and burning most of the shops in the market.
The attackers snatched several vehicles and loaded them with bags of assorted foodstuff before fleeing the area.
He added that the attackers burnt almost all the houses, shops and vehicles in the village even as they carted away assorted food items.
He said: “They destroyed everything we have, carted away our foodstuff and burnt down the remaining ones. The most painful thing is that they did not spare even the fleeing residents as they trailed and killed anybody who attempted to escape.”
Another resident who declined identification claimed that over 100 houses and shops were set on fire by the Boko Haram insurgents.
President Goodluck Jonathan was in South Africa on Saturday to discuss ways of tackling Islamist militancy across the continent with other African heads of state, his office said.
Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people in its five-year-old insurgency in the country, has continued to threaten the security of the entire region.
The insurgents initially attacked mostly security forces and government officials after they launched their uprising in northeast Borno state’s capital, Maiduguri, in 2009. When Jonathan ordered an offensive a year ago to flush them out, civilians formed vigilance groups to help, making them targets of the militants.
In a related development, the Lagos state Commissioner for Rural Development, Mr. Cornelius Ojelabi, has announced the commencement of retraining of Neighbourhood Watchers, the state government’s variant of community police, to combat the current security challenge in the country.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos at the weekend, Ojelabi said the move was informed by the current insecurity of lives and property in the country.
He said the government decided to retrain the Neighbourhood Watchers in the area for proper community policing to safeguard the residents.
He affirmed that the current security challenges in the country called for proactive measures, adding that the government was in support of other vigilance groups in the state sponsored by some communities to ameliorate crime prevention in the various communities.
Meanwhile, the commissioner said the state had resolved to boost economic prosperity of the rural dwellers by mapping out plans aimed at giving 60 per cent rebate to all fishermen in the state to procure fishing materials.
He said the incentive was meant to serve as relief for the fish farmers, adding that the remaining 40 per cent would be spread for payment within 24 months.
The commissioner said 15 new transformers were distributed to 15 communities, while 24 rural electrification projects in various communities across the state had been executed.
“These include mounting of poles, stretching of cables, provision of transformers and connection to the national grid. The forty transformers were given to the members of the state House of Assembly to be installed in their various constituencies.
“The state has successfully executed 74 water and sanitation projects in different rural areas of the state; seven micro-water schemes have been rehabilitated in seven communities in addition to 18 functional micro-water schemes also managed and maintained. Government has been able to complete three community halls, while one is undergoing reconstruction in Ijanikin area of the state.”