Fifty-five people have been killed in the
north-east of Nigeria in co-ordinated
north-east of Nigeria in co-ordinated
attacks by the Boko Haram militant group,
the Nigerian army says. It said 105 prisoners were freed in the pre-dawn raid
in Bama, Borno state. Bama’s police station, military barracks and government
buildings were burned to the ground, said the military and witnesses. Correspondents
say extremist attacks are common in the region but the scale of bloodshed makes
this raid stand out.
the Nigerian army says. It said 105 prisoners were freed in the pre-dawn raid
in Bama, Borno state. Bama’s police station, military barracks and government
buildings were burned to the ground, said the military and witnesses. Correspondents
say extremist attacks are common in the region but the scale of bloodshed makes
this raid stand out.
This strike – coming on the back of other deadly attacks – undermines the
suggestion that the military operation against the militants has diminished the
threat they pose, says the BBC’s Will Ross in Lagos. President Goodluck
Jonathan has set up a committee to agree the terms of an amnesty for the rebels
but Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, has so far rejected the idea. Tuesday’s
raid in the remote town began when some 200 heavily-armed suspected members of
Boko Haram arrived in buses and pick-up trucks at about 05:00 (04:00 GMT), said
Musa Sagir, a military spokesman based in Maiduguri, some 70km (44 miles) from
Bama.
“Some of the gunmen attacked the military barracks but they were repelled. Ten
of them were killed and two were arrested,” he told Breeze Magazine. “But the
gunmen broke into the prison, freeing 105 inmates, and killed all prison
warders they could see except those who hid in a store where cooking utensils
were kept,” he said. Some of the attackers wore army uniforms for the assault,
which continued for almost five hours, he added. Twenty-two police officers, 14
prison wardens, two soldiers and four civilians are said to have died along
with 13 members of Boko Haram.
Bama police commander Abubakar Sagir was quoted as saying the civilians
comprised a woman and three children. Police and public buildings – reportedly
including a magistrate’s court – were razed to the ground. “The call to prayer
was just being said at about 05:00 when the Boko Haram started shooting from
all directions and we ran for our lives,” a witness, Amina Usman, told Breeze
Magazine. “One woman who could not run burned to death,” Ms Usman added.
Boko Haram, as it is popularly known, has its roots in this region of Nigeria.
It is fighting to overthrow the government and set up an Islamic state. Late
last month the military launched a raid to hunt down militants in Baga, also in
Borno state, after Boko Haram militants attacked a military patrol. Nearly 200
people died in the raid, and thousands of buildings were destroyed, leading to
claims by rights groups that the military had used excessive force. The army
put the number killed at 37.
