Boko Haram killed 106 in Izghe Village, Borno State

Gunmen  believed to  be  Boko Haram Islamists on Saturday  night   continued their reign of terror by killing  dozens of   people in Izghe, a village in Gwoza Local Government Area of  Borno State.

The latest killings came barely a few hours  before President Goodluck Jonathan reiterated his belief that Boko Haram activities represented Nigeria’s  “share of the negative news” across the world.

Only last Tuesday,  the fundamentalists snuffed lives out of no fewer than

67 people in Konduga in Borno State. Late last month, the sect  killed over 115 people, including worshippers,   in two communities in Borno and Adamawa states.

The gunmen reportedly rounded up a group of men in Izghe, a largely Christian community  and shot them  during  the attack that lasted about five hours.

Residents, who fled the area said some of the victims were shot, while others had their throats slit by the attackers who were  chanting  “Allah is great.”

“All the dead bodies of the victims are still lying in the streets,” a resident, Abubakar Usman, told Reuters.

“We fled without burying them, fearing the terrorists were still lurking in the bushes.”

There were however conflicting  casualty figures  given  by  some prominent indigenes of the area.

While   Ali Ndume, who represents the area in the Senate  told the Agence France Presse that about 106 people were murdered, a resident put the fugure at 93.

“So far, from information I have received from Izghe, 106 people, including an old woman, have been killed by the attackers, suspected to be Boko Haram gunmen,”  Ndume   said.

The resident,  Mallam Bulama,  told journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State, that the Islamists, who were dressed in military uniform, invaded the community   “killing 93 people, and inflicting injuries on several others.”

“As I speak to you (journalists), many residents of Izghe are missing and those lucky enough to be alive have started leaving.”

Bulama added  that the terrorists who were about 100  came with sophisticated weapons and  shot sporadically before    setting  many houses and shops ablaze.

Funeral rites were held for 52  Muslim victims at the central mosque in the nearby town of Madagali, mosque officials   said.

Another  survivor, Barnabas Idi, also told the AFP  that  he scaled the fence of his house and crawled for about 40 minutes to safety.

“The attackers came around 9.30 pm in six trucks and some motorcycles. They were dressed in military uniform. They asked men to assemble at a place and then started hacking and slaughtering them,” he said.

Idi, who added that security agents were not present during the attack, said some of the insurgents moved from door-to-door looking for those in hiding in their houses.

A Maiduguri resident and an indigene of the troubled community, Adamu Izge,   said he lost his father in-law to  the siege.

 “The insurgents stormed the area on Saturday night  wearing military uniform  and carrying  sophisticated weapons. They launched massive attack on the village, killing many and wounding  others. Some people, as I talk now, are   missing,” Adamu added.

He said the insurgents razed down many houses  and even trailed some of  those that escaped to   nearby villages.

Adamu stated that Izghe indigenes in Maiduguri had expressed their displeasure  at both the Federal and Borno State governments over  incessant attacks  on their village.

Lamenting  that   Gwoza, Bama, Konduga and Damboa   in the state  had  been under  Boko Haram siege, he called on the Federal Government to deploy more military personnel and equipment  in the communities.