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Boko Haram: 15 killed as gunmen raid Borno village

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Few days after a blast hit Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, residents of Gashigar town of Mobbar Local Government have been sent packing by gunmen who invaded the place killing 15 persons and destroying properties worth millions of naira.

DailyPost gathered that hundreds of villagers in Gashigar border community of Borno State are now taking refuge in parts of Niger Republic.

According to residents of Gashigar, a fishing community that shares boundary with villages in Niger Republic, seven persons were killed and over 60 shops and eight vehicles were burnt when the gunmen attacked the area Thursday night at about 7 pm.

Authorities at the Borno State Police Command confirmed the incident even as they debunked the villagers claim that there wasn’t police presence in the affected areas.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Gideon Jibrin, “it is not correct that we don’t have police formation in Mobbar Local Government and surrounding villages; if their claim is true, then how come we are confirming the incident to you? The report got to the table of our State Commissioner of Police within the shortest possible time after it took place”.

He added that apart from the seven persons that were killed, “three others who were running out of fear got drowned in the river”.

The attack on Gashigar came about four days after a similar one was lauched on two neighbouring villages where the same gunmen attacked and killed five persons.

Alhaji Talba Gashigar, an immediate former vice chairman of Mobbar Local Government, who witnessed the incident, said the gunmen attacked their village at about 7 pm on Thursday and began to shoot and set shops and vehicles on fire.

“It happened on Thursday at about 7 pm; gunmen invaded our town driving three vehicles and many motorcycles; they drove straight to the market area and began shooting and setting shops ablaze.

“We had to flee because the gunmen came in numbers and there was no security personnel in our locality. We ran across the borders into the Cameroonian villages but seven of our fellow villagers were shot dead; and over 60 houses and shops were also burnt down completely.

“They spent about two hours operating in the town, about eight cars were also burnt. Unfortunately, our town has no security operative to protect us. Right from Damasak the local government headquarters of Mobbar, through Gashigar and up to Malumfatori town of Abadam local government, there is no single government security personnel guarding or protecting about six villages in between. You should know that from Damasak to Gashigar is about 50km of dusty Sharan desert road and half way before you get to Dusi, there is a feeder road that leads to Damasak near Diffa border town of Niger Republic.

“We are in a state of fear and confusion now, we cannot sleep in the villages here on the Nigerian side; once dusk begins to set in, everyone locks up and crosses the borders to Diffa. Most of us board our canoes and cross over the river boundary and pass the night in Diffa.

“The attack on us has been very frequent lately, just last week Sunday, they attacked the villages of Yawuma-ango and Jabulam at night and killed five persons; three at Yawuma-ango and two in Jabulam”.
Gashigar called on government to step in and assist the local youth vigilante that are currently the security force manning the area.

“We know the reason for these attack is because our young men had joined the Civilian-JTF and the Boko Haram is not happy about it; perhaps that is why they are attacking us in this manner”, the former vice Chairman said.