Over 300 Killed As Gunmen Attack Borno Town In Broad Daylight

No fewer than 300 people were killed in the border
town of Gamboru, Borno State, on Monday when
suspected Boko Haram sect members stormed the
town.
Sixteen
policemen were reportedly among the dead in the
daytime attack that lasted for about four hours,
residents and political leaders from the area
disclosed yesterday.
The attackers, according to a witness, were decked
in military fatigue, stormed the town driving
dozens of pick-up trucks and motorcycles, with
three armoured personnel carriers providing cover.
Some residents, who returned to Gamboru
yesterday after fleeing to nearby Cameroonian
villages, said they discovered that over 250 homes
were destroyed by the insurgents.
A member representing Bama/Ngala/Kalabalge
Federal Constituency of Borno State in the House of
Representatives, Abdul-Rahman Terab, who spoke
to Daily Trust by telephone while on his way to
Gamboru, affirmed that over 300 people were
killed in the violence.
“As I am talking to you now people are still
counting the dead bodies. They have counted over
300 and they have not finished yet”, said Terab.
“Since morning, our people have been conducting
funerals for the dead and up to 8pm (last night)
they are not done yet. There’s no family that is not
affected in Gamboru.
“They have burnt hundreds of houses and all
markets in the town, so we need aid from the
Nigerian government and the international
community”, he added.
Rep. Terab said the Gamboru attack underscored
the dire security situation in the area.
“This is the last border town between Nigeria and
Cameroon in the eastern side, it’s the final frontier,
and if such an attack could be done it means that
we are vulnerable to any kind of external
aggression”, he said.
“It means that we are not protected at all. Such
places should be given top priority in our security
system.”
Senator Ahmed Zannah (Borno South), also said
the attackers burnt all the shops as well as the
offices of the police and customs in the town.
“I spoke to my younger brother, who was inside the
market at the time. He told me that anybody who
said the number of the people killed in the attack is
less than 300 must have been lying”, Zannah told
the Hausa Service of the BBC.
“They burnt over 200 vehicles. People are crying all
over the places”, Senator Zannah added.
Commenting on the response of security personnel
to the attack, the Senator said, “The security people
that came run away to Cameroon, and the ones
that were already deployed in the town have along
with the civilian JTF (vigilantes) crossed the Lake
Chad in search of the missing girls”.