About 50 people were killed
yesterday in Kizara village of Tsafe local government area of Zamfara State by
group of gunmen suspected to be cattle wrestlers.
The gunmen numbering about 150 and
riding motorcycles besieged the village at about 4am, and suddenly opened fire
on any adult community member on sight.
The gunmen also killed the village
head, Mallam Lawali Madawaki, the chief Imam Mallam Liman Usman and the leader
of the vigilante group.
Eyewitness, Yahaya Bale, said it was
a reprisal attack following an earlier organised mission by the community
vigilante group who chased the castle wrestlers to recover some animals they
have stolen from the community.
He said the wresters had earlier
been sending notice to the community that they will ambush them to encounter
and break the persistent resistant against their nefarious activities, ‘but
every time they send the signal, they would fail to come’ he added.
Yahaya further explained that it was
in the early morning of Tuesday that the attackers besieged the village in
large number, shooting only adult men, but sparing women and children, on the
orders of their learders.
Another survivor, Halilu Kizara,
blamed the complete or near-absence of the police or any security drafted in
the village to maintain social security, except only one policeman who is in
charge of the outpost in the community with over 5,000 people.
Confirming the incident, the
Commissioner of Police Zamfara State Command, Mr. Akila Usman Gwary, who spoke
to journalists said however that the official number of casualties is 32, but
gave assurance that his command has drafted team of policemen to maintain law
and order in the area.
The development came just as
rsidents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, said suspected members of Boko
Haram on Monday killed 22 persons in separate attacks. They said the terrorists
were on a revenge mission against youth vigilante groups that have been hunting
them.
According to the residents, the
gunmen attacked a secondary school, Ansarudeen Private School, Maiduguri at
about 3pm, and opened fire on students writing their final year exams. Nine
students were killed, while several others were seriously injured in the
attack.
The incident occured less than 24
hours after gunmen attacked a school in neighbouring Yobe State, killing seven
students and two teachers. Borno and Yobe, alongside Adamawa, are under
emergency rule with a massive deployment of soldiers to the states.
In another incident in Borno on
Monday, the gunmen attacked a group of fishermen on the banks of the Alau
River, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, killing 13 of them.
Some of the witness who were spared
by the attackers said most of those killed at the river bank were relatives of
the youth vigilante group currently hunting Boko Haram members.
“I was lucky to be left out because
I am not a resident of Gwange or Hausari where the Civilian-JTF (the youth
vigilante) came from,” said a fisherman, who pleaded anonymity for security
reasons.
A resident of Bulumkutu in
Maiduguri, Inuwa Umoru, said a prominent fish merchant, Garba Garus, was among
the 13 killed.
“We were busy fishing at Alau River
when suddenly a gang of gunmen appeared from nowhere, rounded us up and asked
all those who are residents of Husari and Gwange to fall on one side. After
sorting us out, they said, “Your children brought this fate upon you; they are
busy catching our members and handing them to soldiers to be killed.
“They then shot them dead and asked
the remaining of us to run for our lives and take the message to the youth
vigilante,” he narrated.
A top security official in the
state, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the attacks but declined further
comments on the number of casualties.
But the youth vigilante have been
commended by President Goodluck Jonathan and the military for helping in the
battle against the terrorists.
The JTF spokesman in Borno, Sagir
Musa, could not be reached on telephone for official reactions to the
incidents.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the
Boko Haram, Abu Zinnira, has said his group will launch a manhunt for youth in
Borno and Yobe states who partake in vigilante activities to identify and
arrest members of the terrorist group.
Some youth in both states have
formed vigilante groups to assist the military to identify and arrest the
terrorists in the towns. Their activities have been commended by the presidency
and the military; but has now put them in a battle with the terrorists.
Abu Zinnira said his group is also
waging a bloody war against the government of Borno and Yobe states in reaction
to the massive arrest of their members by youth in the states.
The terrorists’ spokesman, stated
these in a statement written in Hausa and emailed to journalists.
He added that they are waging a war
against Nigeria in order to establish a Sharia legal system. He said while they
maintain their hostility against the police, soldiers, politicians and other
symbols of authority, they have now added the youth in these states to their
kill-list.
“We have established that the youth
in Borno and Yobe states are now against our course. They have connived with
security operatives and are actively supporting the government of Nigeria in
its war against us. We have also resolved to fight back,” he said.
Some members of the youth groups,
who did not want their identity disclosed for security reasons, have also vowed
to continue their fight against the Boko Haram insurgents in Maiduguri, saying
that they will not be deterred from carrying out their mission and there will
be no going back.
Borno and Yobe, as well as Adamawa,
are under emergency rule with heavy deployment of soldiers by the federal
government. This has, however, not stopped the terrorists who have killed dozens
of people in separate attacks in the states.
Sponsored
www.burgatehosting.com
No comments:
Post a Comment