Reports from Borno said not less than nine villagers in Chinene and Amuda villages of Gwoza council area of the state in northeast Nigeria were killed on Monday night as Boko Haram terrorists attacked the communities.Several others were left severe bullet injuries.
It was learnt that the gunmen had turned the area as their occupied territory by hoisting their white flags and with bold Arabic inscription.
The rocky Chinene communities are located 10km east of Gwoza town and about 120km south of Maiduguri the Borno state capital.Eye witnesses said the gunmen whose flags were hoisted in Ashigashiya, in the course of the attack shot at the villagers who ran into the hills as the sect burnt their homes.
A local government official ,Mr. Nglamuda Ibrahim, who spoke with journalists in Maiduguri said “As we speak now, I am still receiving distress calls from my people back home, they were all crying and calling for help; no soldier or police official had gone there yet. The Boko Haram gunmen mounted their flags in Ashigashiya which is now like their headquarters”.
“In last night’s attack, 6 places of worship were burnt , eight persons were killed and several others seriously injured, we can not count the number of houses that were burnt in Chinene village of Chikide-Joghode-Kaghum ward, said Ibrahim. “They also attacked Amuda village where one person was killed and several others injured”.
“We are worried that the villagers who are presently huddled up in the rocky mountains may be in danger anytime soon as the gunmen would soon find a way of getting up there to attack them. As I am talking to you now, the insurgents have mobilised at Izhaghathagwa mountain planning on how to finish (kill) our people; that is why they have been calling for help before the gunmen climbed up to them.
Those killed in Chinene village reportedly include “Mr. Bulama Ibrahim Dajiba, Mr. Bulama John K. Jaha, Mr Haruna wadda, Mr. Bitrus Kurma, Mr. Haruna Kwatha, Mr. Haruna Waruda, and Mr Shaibu Galva”.
“We are calling on the military authorities in the state to quickly go up there and help us rescue those poor villagers, their wives and children before the imminent danger of the gunmen attack caught them up in the mountains”, he said. “We have a detachment of soldiers that were deployed to Gwoza but none of them cares to go behind the mountains, even though everyone hears the sound of the shootings there”.
A top security personnel confirmed the incident to journalists saying “We all have received the report from Chinene village; it was really another sad episode there”. He confirmed that that the hoisting of flag in Ashigashiya occurred three weeks earlier .
