Scores die in Boko Haram attack

Scores were killed on Saturday during attacks on two Borno villages by suspected members of the outlawed Boko Haram sect.

It was also gathered that several residents were injured in the attacks on the two villages, Koronginim and Ntsiha near Chibok where over 200 schoolgirls were abducted on April 14.

A source from Koronginim said, 'The attackers are Boko Haram and they, over 20, came to Koronginim in two vehicles painted in army colour and they all carried different guns. They opened fire on people as soon as they arrived at about 7am.'

He also said, 'Many people just woke up while many were forced out of their houses. People were fleeing into the nearby bushes when they saw the attackers but they were being pursued even into the bush.'

The source, who claimed he narrowly escaped being killed, added, 'The insurgents razed the village and burnt all our livestock after killing many people.'

'The insurgents surrounded the village. They attacked the village till about 12pm. We lost many people. They killed my childhood friend and my uncle. I fled the house, leaving only my mother,' he said.

A hospital source said many of the injured persons were on admission at the Chibok General Hospital.

A resident of Chibok, in a telephone chat with journalists, lamented that his relations were among the victims. 'Some of our relations at Koronginim and Ntsiha have been killed by Boko Haram today.'

Another eyewitness who spoke to Reuters, said the gunmen who wore military uniform and drove in a convoy of sport utility and military vehicles, attacked the village.

The witness who declined to be identified said the gunmen screamed 'Allahu Akbar' just before they started shooting and killing the villagers.

'Two of their leaders gave orders that they should shoot anyone on sight. I crawled into the nearby bush and fled from there,' the witness said.

Meanwhile, in an interview granted to Al Jazeera, the President's Senior Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Doyin Okupe, had boasted that the Nigerian soldiers would have 'smoked out' the Boko Haram insurgents had they remained in the country without fleeing to Niger and Cameroon after launching attacks.

He said, 'What has sustained the war in favour of Boko Haram was their ability to strike Nigeria and go back in hiding in Niger or Cameroun. If they stay on this soil, we will smoke them out.' Punch