Gunmen kill Village Head, 14 others in Borno

MAIDUGURI— Gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram sect, yesterday, invaded Garubula Village in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, killing the District Head, Alhaji Ibrahim Dawi and 11 others, including the District Head’s bodyguard.

Also two people said to be members of Vigilante Youths, otherwise known as Civilian JTF, were yesterday night dragged out from their houses to a river bank in Gamboru Ngala, a border town with the Cameroon Republic, and slaughtered by the suspected terrorists.

Two people, suspected to be a motorist and his passenger, were ambushed and shot dead along Maiduguri-Gamboru Ngala road, bringing the number of those killed in the area to 15.

Sources told Vanguard: “The gunmen stormed the village in pick-up van and several motorcycles and opened fire on the people.”

Borno Central Senator reacts

Speaking during the BBC Hausa service programme monitored by Vanguard in Maiduguri, Senator Ahmed Zanna, representing Borno Central in the Senate confirmed the killing of the two members of the Civilian JTF at Gamboru Ngala.

He said: “I received a distress call yesterday from the people of my Senatorial District that two members of Vigilante Youths were slaughtered by Boko Haram because of their efforts in complementing the Military in the fight against insurgents.

“Likewise, two people were ambushed while travelling in a Golf Volkswagen saloon vehicle along Maiduguri-Gamboru-Ngala road.”

One Mallam Muhammed Usman Ngala said one of the passengers killed in the ambush yesterday, was his cousin and had since been buried according to Islamic rites.

Eyewitness account

On the Garubula attack, a resident of the area, Mallam Idrisa Garubula said the gunmen stormed the village at about 11p.m. and killed the District Head and 11 others, including his bodyguard before fleeing the area unchallenged.

He said: “The District Head was shot by the gunmen on his head, and later rushed to Biu General Hospital where he was confirmed dead. He has since been buried in Biu, according to Islamic rites.”

The eyewitnesses claimed that there was no presence of security operatives in the area when the attackers struck.

Efforts to get the spokesman of the Borno State Police Command, DSP Gideon Jubril for comments over the matter proved abortive as his phone was switched off at press time.