- As 15 killed in Wukari clash
- 24-hour curfew imposed in Jalingo
By Lawrence Olaoye, Joy Baba, Abuja & Mustapha Kwaru, Maiduguri and Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo
About 20 villagers, including a monarch, were killed after gunmen, suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists, attacked two villages in different parts of Borno state on Tuesday night and yesterday morning, security sources and witnesses have disclosed.
In one of the attacks, the gunmen, yesterday morning, at about 7 a.m. stormed Wala village, killing 18 villagers and injuring several others.
Wala village is in Gwoza Local Government Area, some 130 km southwest of Maiduguri, the Borno capital.
A local government official, who does not want to be named for security reasons, said “We are in difficult times in Gwoza local government; deaths and killings have become a daily affair. 18 people were killed in Wala this morning by the Boko Haram gunmen”.
A senior officer of the Department of State Security Service (DSS), who preferred anonymity, also confirmed the killing in Wala, but asked not to be quoted.
“We have just received the report from our officers in Gwoza that the Boko Haram gunmen had attacked Wala village and killed 18 poor souls there; it is rather unfortunate and sad development despite our efforts up here”, he said.
The DSS officer also confirmed that some 12 hours earlier, another set of gunmen attacked Sabon-Kasuawa Village in Hawul Local Government Area, 210km south of Maiduguri, where they killed a local monarch (district head) and his guard.
A politician from Hawul Local Government, Hyeldi Bwala, confirmed to an on-line journal, Premium Times, on phone that the gunmen attacked the monarch shortly after he returned home from the Mosque where he went to observe the Tuesday night prayers at about 7:30 p.m.
“They simply walked right into the palace of the monarch and shot him in his bedroom. And on their way out, they also shot at his guard before fleeing away into the dark night”, said Mr. Bwala.
Wala village is also about 130km away from Chibok town where over 100 secondary school girls were abducted on Monday night by suspected members of the Boko Haram. The students are yet to be found.
The top monarch of Gwoza, Idrissa Timta (who is addressed as Emir of Gwoza), had last week made a Save-Our-Soul plea to the Nigerian government and security agencies to come to the aid of Gwoza residents whom he said suffer too frequent attacks.
The Gwoza monarch threatened to desert Nigeria for neighbouring Cameroon should the authorities failed to prove their capacities to protect his citizens from the marauding terrorists.
“We, in Gwoza, have suffered too many attacks, killings and destruction, in the past weeks and months. There is no day that we don’t mourn the death of at least seven people who were being killed by the insurgents,” the monarch told journalists.
“Our people have been forced to flee; our markets no longer operate optimally; food items, goods and wares are no longer coming into Gwoza for a long time now. We want action from government so that lives can be saved. If nothing is done, we have no other option than to desert our homelands and flee in to the neighbouring Cameroon towns where we may perhaps get protection”.
Gwoza is the one of the mountainous countryside of Borno State that shares borders with Cameroon in its south and Sambisa in its north. Gwoza’s rocky mountains have served as a hideout for Boko Haram terrorists.
The Borno attacks have continued despite an emergency rule imposed on the state, as well as Adamawa and Yobe, since May last year.
In another development, About 15 are feared killed in a fresh clash between the Fulani herdsmen and local farmer in Nwunkyo-Kura settlement of Wukari, Taraba state yesterday.\
A source further disclosed to this reporter that the clashes led to the imposition of a 24-hour curfew following consultations between the state government and security agencies operating in the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Joseph Kwaji disclosed this in an interview in Jalingo. He attributed the violence to reprisal attacks by youths in the town following alleged incessant raids by suspected herdsmen from surrounding villages.
“I can confirm to you that seven persons died in the violence, while many others had various degrees of injuries, which also left many houses burnt,” he said.
Kwaji dispelled the rumour that the crisis was religious. “Let me use this opportunity to tell the public that the crisis was neither religious nor political,” adding that teams of security personnel had since contained the situation.
Already, the state Acting Gov. Alhaji Garba Umar, had imposed a 24-hour curfew on the town.
Alhaji Umar Waziri, the Taraba Coordinator of the Red Cross, however, said that in spite of the curfew, violence in the town was still going on. “This situation has made it difficult to ascertain the actual figure of casualties,” he added.
Troops deployed to restore law and order in Wukari, Taraba State, however, said they have apprehended 14 armed men who were involved in the fighting during the civil disturbances in the town early in the week.
The fighting resulted in the burning of 25 houses and displacement of over 200 persons. The troops also captured a building where arms were being fabricated, recovering four locally fabricated machine guns, one sub machine gun, four single barrel guns as well as 21 live cartridges.
The DSS spokesman said normalcy has been restored as troops maintain patrols of the locality.
Major-General Olukolade said security forces had been directed to continue with the tempo of offensive on all the terrorists’ enclaves anywhere in the country.
By Lawrence Olaoye, Joy Baba, Abuja & Mustapha Kwaru, Maiduguri and Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo
About 20 villagers, including a monarch, were killed after gunmen, suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists, attacked two villages in different parts of Borno state on Tuesday night and yesterday morning, security sources and witnesses have disclosed.In one of the attacks, the gunmen, yesterday morning, at about 7 a.m. stormed Wala village, killing 18 villagers and injuring several others.Wala village is in Gwoza Local Government Area, some 130 km southwest of Maiduguri, the Borno capital.A local government official, who does not want to be named for security reasons, said “We are in difficult times in Gwoza local government; deaths and killings have become a daily affair. 18 people were killed in Wala this morning by the Boko Haram gunmen”.A senior officer of the Department of State Security Service (DSS), who preferred anonymity, also confirmed the killing in Wala, but asked not to be quoted.“We have just received the report from our officers in Gwoza that the Boko Haram gunmen had attacked Wala village and killed 18 poor souls there; it is rather unfortunate and sad development despite our efforts up here”, he said.The DSS officer also confirmed that some 12 hours earlier, another set of gunmen attacked Sabon-Kasuawa Village in Hawul Local Government Area, 210km south of Maiduguri, where they killed a local monarch (district head) and his guard.A politician from Hawul Local Government, Hyeldi Bwala, confirmed to an on-line journal, Premium Times, on phone that the gunmen attacked the monarch shortly after he returned home from the Mosque where he went to observe the Tuesday night prayers at about 7:30 p.m.“They simply walked right into the palace of the monarch and shot him in his bedroom. And on their way out, they also shot at his guard before fleeing away into the dark night”, said Mr. Bwala.Wala village is also about 130km away from Chibok town where over 100 secondary school girls were abducted on Monday night by suspected members of the Boko Haram. The students are yet to be found.The top monarch of Gwoza, Idrissa Timta (who is addressed as Emir of Gwoza), had last week made a Save-Our-Soul plea to the Nigerian government and security agencies to come to the aid of Gwoza residents whom he said suffer too frequent attacks.The Gwoza monarch threatened to desert Nigeria for neighbouring Cameroon should the authorities failed to prove their capacities to protect his citizens from the marauding terrorists.“We, in Gwoza, have suffered too many attacks, killings and destruction, in the past weeks and months. There is no day that we don’t mourn the death of at least seven people who were being killed by the insurgents,” the monarch told journalists.“Our people have been forced to flee; our markets no longer operate optimally; food items, goods and wares are no longer coming into Gwoza for a long time now. We want action from government so that lives can be saved. If nothing is done, we have no other option than to desert our homelands and flee in to the neighbouring Cameroon towns where we may perhaps get protection”.Gwoza is the one of the mountainous countryside of Borno State that shares borders with Cameroon in its south and Sambisa in its north. Gwoza’s rocky mountains have served as a hideout for Boko Haram terrorists.The Borno attacks have continued despite an emergency rule imposed on the state, as well as Adamawa and Yobe, since May last year.In another development, About 15 are feared killed in a fresh clash between the Fulani herdsmen and local farmer in Nwunkyo-Kura settlement of Wukari, Taraba state yesterday.\A source further disclosed to this reporter that the clashes led to the imposition of a 24-hour curfew following consultations between the state government and security agencies operating in the state.The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Joseph Kwaji disclosed this in an interview in Jalingo. He attributed the violence to reprisal attacks by youths in the town following alleged incessant raids by suspected herdsmen from surrounding villages.“I can confirm to you that seven persons died in the violence, while many others had various degrees of injuries, which also left many houses burnt,” he said.Kwaji dispelled the rumour that the crisis was religious. “Let me use this opportunity to tell the public that the crisis was neither religious nor political,” adding that teams of security personnel had since contained the situation.Already, the state Acting Gov. Alhaji Garba Umar, had imposed a 24-hour curfew on the town.Alhaji Umar Waziri, the Taraba Coordinator of the Red Cross, however, said that in spite of the curfew, violence in the town was still going on. “This situation has made it difficult to ascertain the actual figure of casualties,” he added.Troops deployed to restore law and order in Wukari, Taraba State, however, said they have apprehended 14 armed men who were involved in the fighting during the civil disturbances in the town early in the week.The fighting resulted in the burning of 25 houses and displacement of over 200 persons. The troops also captured a building where arms were being fabricated, recovering four locally fabricated machine guns, one sub machine gun, four single barrel guns as well as 21 live cartridges.The DSS spokesman said normalcy has been restored as troops maintain patrols of the locality.Major-General Olukolade said security forces had been directed to continue with the tempo of offensive on all the terrorists’ enclaves anywhere in the country.
