NEMA declares 65 dead, 136 injured in Dalori village attack in Borno

A total of 65 persons died and 136 others were injured in Saturday attacks on Dalori village in Borno State, the National Emergency Management Agency has said.

Dalori, which is less than 10km from Maiduguri, came under attack on Saturday evening.

NEMA said Monday that after the attack, its Emergency Response Team immediately mobilized for rescue along with other rescue agencies that included the Police Anti-bomb Squad, the National Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Army, the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigerian Red Cross.

“Victims were evacuated to Umaru Shehu Hospital, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and Borno General Hospital for medical attention where 40 persons were confirmed dead,” Sani Datti, a spokesperson for the rescue agency said in the statement.

“However the community buried 25 deaths beside those that were taken to the hospitals. 136 persons were injured in the attacks.”

Mr. Datti said the suspected Boko Haram insurgents, who launched the attack, came into the village and started shooting sporadically.

“That put the villagers and the neighborhood into pandemonium and they started running helter-skelter,” Mr. Datti said.

“Some of the villagers that succeeded in moving out, including those in the nearby IDPs camp (Dalori Camp II), converged under a big three where people normally gather in the evening to do menial trading activities.

“Unknown to them, one of the suicide bombers sneaked into the midst of the gathering and detonated explosive devices killing scores of people and injuring many.”