Boko Haram launches fresh attacks in Borno, kills about 300 people

The Custodian May 7, 2014

Suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect stormed Gamborou Ngala town in Borno State on Monday killing at least 300 people.

The insurgents, who drove in amoured vehicles, fired sporadic shots into a crowd in a local market before proceeding into the town to wreak more havoc.

Gamborou, situated along Nigeria-Cameroon border is the administrative headquatres of Ngala Local Government of the state, about 200 km from Maiduguri, the capital city.

Senator Ahmed Zannah, who represents the zone in the Senate confirmed the killings.

He disclosed that the invaders spent 12 hours wreaking havoc on defenceless civilians.

He said several other persons were also injured in the attack, while almost all the houses and shops in the town were burnt down.

Senator Zannah, who spoke in a BBC Hausa report, monitored in Maiduguri by DailyPost said many people were wounded, while surviving victims were rendered homeless as thousands of houses and shops were burnt by the rampaging gunmen.

He pointed out that the attackers were armed with dangerous weapons, comprising of Armored Personnel Carrier, (APC), Improvised Explosive Devices, (IEDs), petrol bombs, assault rifles and Rocket Propelled Launchers (RPGs).

 “The attackers stormed the communities in the night when residents were still sleeping, setting ablaze houses and shooting residents who tried to escaped from
the fire”, he disclosed.

He added that “About 300 persons were confirmed dead after the incident,
with several others injured. Almost all the houses in the communities were destroyed by the hoodlums who threw Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at the
buildings.

“My brother who was at the scene of the attack told me that the actual number of the dead cannot be ascertained but that they are not less than 300.

“In fact, while we spoke, he wept following the high number of the dead bodies which littered the market”.

According to him, the security forces earlier deployed to area, moved to the Lake Chad axis when they received intelligence report that some gunmen were sighted with abducted schoolgirls moving to the area.

“Initially, there were many security operatives in the town to secure it from possible attacks.

“However, upon receiving information over the movement of insurgents with kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls towards Lake Chad area, they withdrew and moved further to confront the gunmen.

“It was just an hour after their withdrawal that the terrorists invaded the town, shooting everyone on sight and setting buildings on fire.

“So far, 200 vehicles and thousands of houses, shops and an outfit of the Nigerian Customs Service, (NCS) were all burnt”, he explained.

A local government official who declined identity also confirmed the casualty figures.

“It is really a terrible situation, we had wanted to rush relief materials to the area to provide temporary succor to the victims. But we were prevailed upon by security agents to shelve our plans for security reasons”, he stated.

The official appealed to the State and the Federal Government to assist the area with resources towards rehabilitating the victims.