The Tuesday’s attack, it was learnt, was a retaliatory one on the three villages of Attagara, Agapalawa and Aganjara in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
Though a security source revealed to journalists that 83 persons were killed in the attack, residents of the area insisted that about 100 persons were killed.
A resident of Maiduguri, who lost his brother in the attack, told journalists anonymously that the armed men, dressed in military camouflage, drove into the three communities of Attagara, Agapalawa and Aganjara in military vehicles.
They subsequently gathered the unsuspecting villagers and opened fire on them.
Gwoza is located on the south-east of Borno State and about 135 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the state capital presently ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency.
The security source said, “The community actually thought the gunmen were military personnel. It didn’t occur to them they were Boko Haram. It was too late by the time they found out as the insurgents had indiscriminately opened fire on them.
“As I am speaking to you now, over 83 corpses are laying in the villages now yet to be buried.”
An indigene of the area, who is resident in Maiduguri, Yohanna Ibrahim, said he had been in touch with three of his relations who were fortunate enough to escape being killed.
He said his fleeing relations were lucky to have escaped the attack but have to return to the village again fearing they could be traced into the bush by the Boko Haram.
Ibrahim said his relatives who were unaware of the level of killings were shocked when they found out the magnitude of the murder.
Though attempts to get security operatives confirmation were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report, a security source disclosed that the communities lost 83 persons.
Source: Punch
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