Boko Haram kills 37 in Yobe

Boko Haram terrorists have killed no fewer than 37 villagers in two different attacks in Yobe State.

It was gathered that the villagers were killed in attacks on Geidam district in Yobe State on Monday and Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

It was learned that the insurgents shot 17 people dead while a land mine was used to kill 20 others who had gone to attend their burial.

A resident, Shaibu Babagana, disclosed that the first attack occurred in the remote Gurokayeya village in Geidam when the terrorists opened fire on some villagers late Monday, killing 17 of them.

Babagana added that 20 other villagers who had gone to attend their burial were then killed on Tuesday when they drove into a land mine that exploded.

Another resident, Idris Geidam, said those killed were more than 40.

“This is one of the most horrific attacks by Boko Haram in recent times. For a burial group to be attacked shortly after the loss of their loved ones is beyond horrific,” Geidam told AFP.

The Yobe State Government, on Wednesday, summoned an emergency security meeting over the attacks which it blamed on extremists that entered the state from the neighbouring Borno State.

“The security agencies have deployed security men to the area and we are studying a report on the infiltration in an effort to stave off future occurrences,” a Yobe State Government security aide, Abdulsalam Dahiru, told reporters.

Authorities, however, could not provide the official death toll, as is sometimes the case following such attacks.

The Boko Haram terrorists launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 in an effort to establish their radical interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, in the region.

At least 35,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced due to the extremist violence concentrated in Borno State, which neighbours Yobe.

The Star