Over 100 Nigerians killed In 24hrs By Bandits, Terrorists

Over 100 Nigerians have been killed by bandits and terrorists in the last 24hrs, in Northwest, Nigeria.

Death toll in Borno State rose to eighty-one on Wednesday, with authorities stating that 13 persons are still critically injured from the invasion. 

Earlier reports suggested that sixty-nine persons died on Tuesday after Boko Haram fighters attacked Zowo, a village in Gubio town of Borno State, however, latest figures show that more deaths were recorded in the early hours of Wednesday.

Seven individuals were also reportedly kidnapped in the onslaught which took place late in the night.

The insurgents stormed the village in large numbers shooting sporadically and killing many in sight.

The terrorists  also set the village ablaze on their way out.

Over a thousand cows were reportedly rustled while hundreds of other livestock were either shot or burnt alive.

The villagers who are mostly farmers and cattle breeders had shown resilience in an earlier attack in April, killing two suspected Boko Haram members, however, the latest attack took them by storm as the insurgents came at the dead of night.

Local sources claim that last night’s attack appears to be a reprisal.

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum on Wednesday visited the scenes of the deadly attack.

At the village, a survivor told Zulum that 81 residents were killed during the attack on Tuesday with 13 persons injured and seven others, including the village head were abducted.

While sympathizing with the people over the attack, Governor Zulum urged the Nigerian military to undertake a final onslaught that would put an end to the insurgency within the shore of the lake Chad.

Zulum described the attack as barbaric and unfortunate. He evacuated five injured persons in his convoy, for treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

Zulum said: “Last year, about the same number of people were killed in Gajiram. This is barbaric. It is very unfortunate.

“The only solution to end this massacre is by dislodging the insurgents in the shores of Lake Chad. Doing so will require collaborative regional efforts.”

In Katisina, Armed gangs killed 57 people in a string of attacks on villages, residents said on Wednesday, as security forces struggle to curb violence in the region.

Roughly 150 gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on residents before looting shops and stealing cattle in a series of assaults on Tuesday in six remote communities in the state, the sources said.

“We lost a total of 57 people in the attacks across the six villages,” a local leader told AFP on condition of anonymity as he feared for his safety.

In the worst-hit village of Kadisau the assailants — dubbed “bandits” by locals — shot and killed 33 people, local resident Mohammed Salisu said.

Salisu said he escaped by abandoning his motorcycle and hiding in a ditch before crawling into a nearby house where he hid among dirty laundry for the five hours the attack and looting lasted.

“They looted every shop in the village and took away over 200 cattle,” said Salisu, who lost seven cows to the attackers.

The attackers opened fire on a football pitch where young men were watching a local match, said Sada Audi, a resident of nearby village said.

Residents said 24 more people were later killed across the villages of Hayin Kabalawa, Garke, Makera, Kwakwere and Maiganguna.

The assailants left two dozen people with bullet wounds, inhabitants said.

Nigeria’s northwest has been wracked by years of violence, involving clashes between rival communities over land, attacks by heavily armed criminal gangs and retaliation strikes from vigilante groups.

The unrest, which experts say has been spurred by overpopulation and climate change, has seen an estimated 8,000 people killed since 2011 and 200,000 flee their homes.

Nigeria’s military last month said it had launched air raids to halt a spike of attacks in President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state of Katsina.

Authorities have carried out several security operations and local peace negotiations in the region but have failed to end the bloodshed.