Governor Shettima confirms Boko Haram terrorists killing 56 villagers in recent attacks

By Blogger 

Governor of Borno state state in Northeast Nigeria, Mr Kashim Shettima, has Sunday confirmed that 68 villagers in a remote village of Baanu in Nganzai local government area of his state were recently killled in an attack by Boko Haram terrorists. 

Borno state.

The governor made this known when he met with parents of abducted Chibok school girls in his office where he assured them of government’s commitment to rescue the abducted girls who have been in captivity for over 500 days now. 

Before the governor made the confirmation of the attack fleeing residents of Baanu village who were lucky to have escaped the attack had told local reporters in Maiduguri that they were attacked by the Boko Haram on Friday night. 

The fleeing villagers said they had to made their escape through the bushes where they hid until the attacking insurgents left before they returned to pick some of their belongings, during which they found several bodies of their neighbours that were killed littering the streets on Baanu. 

Mustapha Alibe, a farmer resident of Baanu who was amongst those that escaped the massacre said “When we returned back to the village in the morning after spending the night in the bush, we saw several corpses of our kins all over the streets of the village. It was really disturbing. We could not wait to bury them properly because one of the injured persons we found in the village said the terrorist had threatened to return to finish those that would return to the village; so we had to pick what we could pack and fled through the bushes to Maiduguri”. 

Alibe said he could not give exact number of those killed “because we were all in confusion, but I know I saw more that two dozens of corpses in the part of the village where my home is located. 

Another fleeing resident of Baanu, warned that the insurgents have been gathering around the village for some days, even as he warned that the terrorists might be planning a big attack. “They have been gathering around Gajiram village for over four days now, and each day their numbers increases”, he said. 

The security officials in Borno state had on Saturday denied knowledge of the incident when journalists made enquiry to that effect. 

Borno state governor, who may have been relying on security report at his disposal had confirmed the attack on Baanu when he was addressing 90 parents of the Chibok schoolgirls in his office.  

“I want us all to understand that Boko Haram crisis is a calamity that befall us, as the insurgents does not discriminate wether somebody is Christian or Muslim, neither do they have any tribal sympathy or affiliations. Just yesterday they killed 56 people in Baanu village of Nganzai local government, as I am speaking to you their corpses are still littered on the street of the village because virtually everyone in the village had to run for their lives”.

Baanu is about 265km north of Maiduguri of Maiduguir, the Borno state. Resident of the area are mostly farmers who grow grains, groundnuts and rare few animals.