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| Boko Haram Attack in the North |
The Boko Haram sect has intensified attacks in the North-East region in the past few days
At least thirteen people were killed
late Wednesday when gunmen, believed to be members of the extremist Boko Haram
sect, launched surprise attacks on Michika town in Adamawa state, residents and
security sources have said.
Two banks – First Bank and Union Bank –
were torched and might have been burgled by the attackers, while the main
police station in the town was also burnt.
Some of the residents said on phone on
Thursday that the attackers arrived the town around 9 p.m to unleash the mayhem
for about five hours.
“They burnt three banks, police
station, shops and part of the Michika Local Government Council secretariat.
They came in nine Toyota Hilux vans firing guns and throwing explosives,” a
resident who simply identified himself as Fide said.
Fide said he saw corpses of two victims
whose remains were recovered on Thursday.
“One of the dead bodies is that of a
staff of Bank of Agriculture,” Fide said.
The attackers reportedly raided
Kirchinga, Kubla and Shuwa villages on their way to Michika.
“They burnt places of worship and the
house of a former commissioner, Idris Nuhu, in Shuwa village,” said a resident,
Sule Idris.
Confirming the report, the spokesperson
of the 23rd Armour Brigade, Yola, Ja’afaru Nuhu, said the insurgents attacked
communities in Madagali and Michika Local Government Areas.
Mr. Nuhu also promised to give details
of the attacks later.
The lawmaker representing Michika
constituency in the state House of Assembly, Admu Kamale, also confirmed the
attacks.
Both officials however declined to
provide information on casualty.
The gunmen had on Wednesday night
raided three villages in Madagali and Michika local governments in the
North-east state.
The chairman of Madagali Local
Government, Maina Ularamu, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES over the telephone
Wednesday night, said the attackers, suspected to be members of the extremist
Boko Haram sect, first attacked Kirchiga Village before proceeding to Shuwa
town both in Madagali Local Government Area.
“They came to Kirchiga at a little
after 8p.m and opened fire sporadically at the people,” he said.
He however could not confirm any
casualty figure as at midnight on Thursday.
Mr. Ularamu added that the gunmen also
attacked neighbouring Shuwa town, adding that the sounds of gunfire could still
be heard in the town as at the time we spoke to him.
Also, a resident of Michika town, who
declined to be named for security reasons, told PREMIUM TIMES that he could
hear gunshots in the town.
He reported intermittent sounds of
gunshots and said most people in the town had run home for safety.
