At least 10 people including three members of the civilian JTF died yesterday when gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members attacked two different settlements in Konduga local government area of Borno State, eyewitnesses said.
The attack came barely 24 hours after some gunmen dressed in military fatigue, also suspected to be Boko Haram members, attacked motorists and residents in Logomani village in Dikwa LGA, killing at least eight people.
According to eyewitnesses, the suspected terrorists invaded the villages of Kawuri district and Fori in Konduga, killing seven residents, even as three members of the civilian JTF who chased the attackers into the bush also died in the process.
Kawuri, a major village in Konduga LGA, is about 60 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
An eyewitness who didn’t want to be named confirmed to LEADERSHIP that he travelled from Bama village through Konduga to Maiduguri yesterday morning.
“Many houses and public schools were set ablaze in Kawuri and Fori villages. I saw them still smoking as we drove by,” said the source who is a civil servant at the state’s Ministry of Agriculture.
A police officer in Konduga, who also pleaded anonymity, told LEADERSHIP in Maiduguri that “we had the report of about 10 people killed last night (Sunday) and some were injured. But I don’t really have exact details of casualties because I left Konduga early this morning”.
He stated: “But what we heard was that the gunmen were about 30 in number driving two Toyota Hilux and several motorcycles, carrying arms and ammunition, rocket-propelled launchers including improvised explosive devices (IEDs). They invaded the villages about 3am, ordered sleeping residents out, then opened fire on them. We heard a lot of explosions, which we later found out were used on buildings and schools.”
Efforts to get confirmation from the spokesman of the 7 Division, Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Captain Aliyu Danja, proved abortive up until press time.
