Boko Haram Sets Church Ablaze, Kills Villager In Fresh Borno Attacks
SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, (THEWILL) â€' Boko Haram struck again in Borno State on Saturday setting ablaze the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) during attacks on Limankara, Gur and Sabongari Hausawa villages as the insurgents also set several houses and vehicles ablaze and killed a villager.
Local sourcws at Gur and Limankara disclosed that the gunmen stormed , the villages in several Toyota Hilux vehicles and motorcycles before launching the attacks with Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs) and petrol-bombs ..
The rampaging gunmen were also said to have made away with six vehicles and looting warehouses and stores from where they stole 1,950 bags of beans and other grains.
The attack on our village came 24 hours before the insurgents struck, as we got the information that Limankara village will be the next target at the weekend. With this information, we had to evacuate all our children and wives to safer places.
We don't know who these gunmen are targeting to kill or kidnap, as they did last Monday at Warabe and Wala villages on the Gwoza-Bama road.
By 1.35 pm last night, I started hearing people chanting God is great in Arabic towards Jaje village route, before the houses of our District Head, Mr. Zephaniah Tada and residences of two retired police officers were in flames along with the church, 300 metres behind Tada's residence.
'The vehicles parked at the seven houses were also set ablaze, while six others were snatched yesterday night,' Wiso Mbicha, who escaped the attack said as he gave a graphic detail of the onslaught.
Mbicha, said the gunmen, after torching several houses and a Church, also bombed the Limankara Bridge linking Borno and Adamawa states at the border; before fleeing towards the direction of Sambisa Forest.
'Some of the soldiers at the Military post were alerted on the advancement of insurgents, there were exchanges of gunfire for several minutes; while the houses and a church were burning.
'The gunmen however retreated as they were chased out of the village without killing any resident or soldier,' he said.
But a different group which operated at Gur village in Biu council area of the state, killied a villager; and burnt down several houses and shops, before fleeing towards Damaturu road at about 12.45am.
A resident of the village, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the gunmen attempted to recruit young men at Sabon Garin Hausawan village into their group , but the attempt was rebuffed by the youths.
Out of anger at the disappointment,the gunmen were said to have launched an attack on the village as they also set ablaze several houses and shops in the village situated along the Biu-Damaturu road.
A top security operative, craving anonymity, confirmed the attacks on the three villages in Gwoza and Biu Local Government Areas of the state, saying the gunmen shot one person to death in Gur village and destroyed several houses, vehicles and a local church .
He however said though investigations were ongoing, nobody has been arrested in connection with the attacks.