Governor Zulum cuts short Abuja trip to visit the affected Borno communities.
At least three people have been confirmed killed in one of the Borno communities in Hawul Local Government Area attacked by Boko Haram on Saturday.
Isa Gusau, the spokesperson to Governor Babagana Zulum, also said the insurgents destroyed schools, places of worship and other buildings during the attack on the four communities.
“About four communities, comprising Tashan Alade, Shafa, Azare, Sabon-Kasuwa and Debro, were affected by Saturday’s attack with schools, shops and places of worship destroyed by the insurgents,” Mr Gusau said in a Sunday statement.
“Three persons were killed in Shafa, among them two hunters and a civilian. Thousands of bags of farm produce, recently harvested by farmers, were looted by the insurgents who also emptied shops and market stalls.”
In Tashan Alade, residents fled into the hills overlooking the village before the assailants arrived, resident Luka Musa said. When they came they went on a burning spree, burning three churches, three houses and a drug store, Musa said.
Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in recent days.
In a video it released on Saturday the group claimed responsibility for a Christmas Eve attack on a village in which 11 people died as well as the kidnap of a priest who appeared in the video.
On Thursday dozens of loggers were kidnapped and three killed near the border with Cameroon.
Boko Haram and a splinter group known as ISWAP have killed 36,000 people in the northeast and forced roughly two million to flee since 2009, according to the United Nations.
Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri
Four communities were laid to waste in attacks and looting spree by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in troubled Borno State on Boxing Day.
The four communities: Tashan Alade, Shafa, Azare, Sabon-Kasuwa and Debro, all in Southern Borno were invaded on Saturday by the insurgents.
The insurgents spent several hours perpetrating their dastardly act in the four communities, attacking schools, shops and places of worship, and setting them ablaze.
Three persons were discovered to have been killed in Shafa, two of which were local hunters and a civilian.
Thousands of bags of farm products, recently harvested by farmers, were alleged to have been looted by the insurgents who also emptied shops and market stalls.
Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum (centre).
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno on Sunday flew from Abuja to Maiduguri and, on arrival, took a military chopper to visit the four communities raided on Saturday night in Hawul Local Government Area, by insurgents.
A statement by the governor’s Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy, Mallam Isa Gusau, which announced this, also explained that the Governor had on Thursday left Maiduguri for Katsina en route to Abuja for a series of scheduled activities, but had to cut short the trip following the attack.
“About four communities, comprising Tashan Alade, Shafa, Azare, Sabon-Kasuwa, and Debro, were affected by Saturday’s attack with schools, shops, and places of worship destroyed by the insurgents.
Breaking: At least 10 dead in Boko Haram attack in Nigeria
On
Kindly Share This Story:
The jihadist group Boko Haram killed at least 10 people including four security personnel in raids on three villages in northeast Nigeria, local and security sources told AFP on Sunday.
Fighters in six trucks attacked the villages of Shafa, Azare and Tashan Alade in Borno state on Saturday and set fire to homes and public buildings while firing sporadically at residents.
“They killed 10 people and burt homes, shops and churches, said Sani Mohammed, head of an anti-jihadist militia.
The assailants went from village to village. In Azare, they “burnt a police station and killed two policemen, a member of the civil defence and a vigilante,” another militiaman Bulus James said.