By Garba Mohammad
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have attacked two villages in Madagali local government area of Adamawa , killing dozens and burning houses to the ground in a pattern of violence that has become almost a daily occurrence, local officials and witnesses have said.
Reports say that the two attacks on the villages took place on Saturday’s night and early hours of Sunday in remote parts of Gubla and Wagra during which dozens were feared killed, others injured , as hundreds fled.
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 13 corpses littered on the ground,” villagers recounted, as one of the residents, who identified himself as Apogu Heldia , said, “I cannot actually say how many people were kill but I saw about ten dead bodies were evacuated and five others died at hospital.”
Those injured including a soldier were hurriedly taken to Gulak hospital where some were reported to have died while in the 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’s night attacked military base at Gubla and later burnt down armoured tank, though some of the attackers were said to have been nabbed.
Efforts to get military and police authorities comment on the incident did not yield result at the time of filing this report but the Chairman of Madagali LG, James Abawu Watharda confirmed the two attacks, though he could not give details of those lost their lives during the attacks.
Watharda said soldiers have sealed up the area and were hunting for the fleeing attackers, adding that “people were killed, and some houses, were set ablaze by the attackers, while all the villagers have fled.”
Madagali Local Government is bordering Gwoza Local Government of Borno State, which has experienced series of insurgent attacks since the declaration of the state of emergency.
The Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, was in South Africa on Saturday to discuss ways of tackling terrorism across the continent with other African heads of state, his office said.
Nigeria and its neighbours say Boko Haram – which has killed thousands of people in its five-year-old insurgency in Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer – threatens 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 vigilante groups to help, making them targets of the militants.
Last week, Nigeria accepted help from the United States, Britain, France and China . And about 80 US troops have been deployed to Chad on a mission to try to free the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls, who are still in captivity.
