{About 49 people were yesterday killed in separate attacks on villages in Borno State by gunmen believed to be Boko Haram, as the terrorist sect sustained hostilities on isolated communities, eyewitnesses and security sources said.}
In the early hours of Saturday, gunmen in their large numbers attacked a quiet agrarian village, Dalwa-Masuba in Damboa local area of the state, killing 40 people, injuring several others and torching the entire community.
The gunmen had also burnt down three pickup vans carrying woods to Damboa.
A member of the security vigilante, who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday on phone on condition of anonymity, said no security personnel had reached the attacked town at the time he was speaking.
“We heard about the attack from some of the villagers who fled the village, and we had to drive there on our patrol van; the entire village was set on fire, and about 40 persons were lying dead all over the place; three firewood pickups were also set ablaze,” the local vigilante said.
The attack which occurred within the morning hours has not been confirmed by the police and other security operatives yet.
Dalwa-Masuba is a farming community 40km away from Damboa town and about 80km south-west of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
Another attack was reported some hours earlier along the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway. Boko Haram attacked and killed nine people and escaped with a vehicle loaded with beans.
Witnesses said the incident happened about 6pm on Friday.
A lucky bus driver whose three passengers were not so lucky said he did not notice the attackers until he ran into them while operating on the highway. He managed to escape but three of his passengers died of bullet wounds fired by the attackers.
Relating his story to newsmen, the driver who was in tears said, “I failed to notice that people in the nearby village were stopping me. The attackers shot at my vehicle and killed three people. The rest of us were lucky to have escaped.”
The gunmen, according to a witness, had engaged some of the soldiers in the nearby checkpost, but still managed to escape with the lorry filled with about 150 bags of beans
Source: Leadership
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