Not
less than 43 persons were at the weekend killed in an attack on Gubio, a
community in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents, a security source
and residents have said.
A member of youth vigilante group in Gubio, Abba Idris, told ThisDay
that a group of militant Boko Haram rode to Gubio, located north of
Borno, in about six hilux vehicles on Saturday and set houses ablaze.
He said the town was left pregnable as there was barely any cover from
the Nigerian military which was involved in operations in another parts
of the state carrying.
He said the military were carrying out counter-insurgency operation to dislodge Boko Haram from their camps.
Idris said the insurgents arrived the town at about 4.30p.m. on Saturday, set fire on residences, forcing people to flee.
Idris told journalists who accompanied the state governor, Alhaji
Kashim Shettima, on a visit to the town, said: “They then opened fire on
people. We lost 43 people.”
He said the insurgents burnt over 500 houses, many vehicles and motorcycles.
He also disclosed that the Islamists militants parked food items
belonging to the locales as “some of their fighters were busy shooting
residents.”
A leader of the vigilante group in the town, Bukar
Mandama said five Boko Haram members were killed even as he appealed to
the authorities to help with surveillance vehicles to safeguard the
people.
Some of the public buildings burnt by the insurgents
included the local office of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), schools and a military base.
Shettima during
his visit urged residents not to flee, promising them that authority
will liaise with the military to provide security.
Credit: Michael Olugbode/ThisDay
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