Gunmen attack Borno villages, kill five

Gunmen, believed to be either Boko Haram or ISWAP, on Saturday, attacked three communities in Borno State, killing five herdsmen and stealing 480 cows, a government official has said.

Sources said the insurgents, who were all armed with assault rifles, attacked three villages – Moduri, Kelewa and Ngudori in Magumeri Local Government area around 6.30 pm on Saturday.

Magumeri is one of the local government areas that share conventional boundaries with Gubio and Monguno where ISWAP staged coordinated repeated attacks that claimed the lives of over 120 persons.

The local government is listed among the unsafe communities of Borno State by both the state government and the United Nations.

A local vigilante operative, Bunu Malam, confirmed the attack, saying “it was yet another sad day for our people in the three Magumeri villages.”

He said the attacked communities are remote isolated villages “that do not have any serious security coverage.”

The Secretary of Magumeri local government, Ali Kyari, who is in charge of the administration of the council, confirmed the attack to journalists.

He said the insurgents, who were apparently after food and livestock of residents in vulnerable communities, opened fire on residents in the three villages and killed five men who tried to beg the attackers not to take away their only means of livelihood.

“We (are) terrified with renewed Boko Haram attacks in my communities,” he said.

“Yesterday, being Saturday, some groups of terrorists descended upon Moduri village in the evening and carted away 300 cows after killing three persons.

“Later on, the insurgents went to Kelewa village and killed one person before they rustled away 80 cows, while in Ngudori village, 100 cows were also carted away after killing one person.”

The local government scribe appealed to the security agencies “to intensify efforts against renewed attacks by Boko Haram.

“These attacks are posing a danger and frightening our farmers, especially the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have the resilience and by returning to their liberated communities, in their eagerness to engage in this year’s farming to provide for their family.”

Mr Kyari said the only injured person is now receiving treatment in a hospital in Maiduguri.

The attacked villages are all located less than 20km away from Magumeri town.