In two separate Boko Haram attacks, seven people including a soldier, were killed in both Bam and Gajigana villages of Biu and Magumeri Local Government Areas of Borno State, while an unspecified number of teenage girls were abducted in Bam Village. Several more people were injured in Gajigana village after insurgents set ablaze shops and houses without confrontation.
A resident of the area who fled to Miringa town for safety, Mallam Ali Bam, said that the insurgents went to the village at about 3:30 am on the weekend and set the whole village ablaze.
He said:
"Boko Haram terrorists after separating a lot of teenage girls from married women in Bam, set ablaze the whole village and fled with the girls unchallenged, as the attack lasted for some hours before they fled. I called on General Buratai to do something as we have been telling the soldiers that the Boko Haram were so close to the village, but they only went to Mangari village which is few kilometers away from Buratai and shot into the air and left. The soldiers don't want to confront the terrorists, Buratai should better do something before they start attacking and sacking villages, as they were doing before."
Then they attacked and burnt down Gajiganna village killing three persons including a soldier before stealing lots of foodstuff.
An eyewitness said that the insurgents who came at 8:30pm on Friday started shooting sporadically into the air to scare people, but they ended up killing one man, one woman and a soldier.
He said:
"I believe it was a revenge mission, because recently, we arrested over 17 Boko Haram insurgents in the community and handed them over to the military. I am calling on the Federal government and the military authorities to do something about the pockets of insurgents in the bushes and villagers before they regroup and start attacking big towns and villages,".
He said that the attack on Gajigana could have been avoided if soldiers acted on the information that they were given rather when the insurgents came the soldiers took to their heels without fighting them.
Vanguard
