Suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed no fewer
than 37 people in five villages around Maiduguri,
the capital of Borno State, a military source and a
local village defence group said on Friday.
The attackers, who arrived on motorcycles and in
four-wheel drive vehicles, fired into houses and
shot fleeing locals on Wednesday evening and in
the early hours of Thursday, the military source
added.
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“Reports indicated a total of 37 people were killed
by the insurgents during the separate attacks,”
said the source who asked not to be named.
A member of a village defence group known
locally as the Civilian Joint Task Force, Malum
Idrissa, also told Reuters that the death toll was 37
and that the affected villages were 56 miles from
Maiduguri.
Details of the attack emerged a day after President
Muhammadu Buhari held a summit with regional
counterparts to set up a joint military force to
counter Boko Haram.
The Boko Haram terror group has killed
thousands and left about 1.5 million displaced in
the last six years.
The military relocated its command centre to
Maiduguri this week for a renewed effort to tackle
the Boko Haram activities.
Over 80 people were killed in bomb blasts in the
city last week by the insurgents.