By Mustapha Buhari, Maiduguri
The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Damien Chukwu, on Wednesday confirmed that suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked Dzaku village in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno state on Monday and abducted seven women.
Askira Uba, a Southern Borno town of about 180-kilometre distance from Maiduguri, the state capital, is believed to be the birthplace of Boko Haram and had witnessed series of deadly attacks from the sect in the last six years.
Addressing a press conference in Maiduguri, the Commissioner of Police said the insurgents killed three people and razed down the whole village.
“The intelligence report we received showed that the insurgents killed three people and razed down the entire village,” he said.
Mr. Chukwu said the military was presently at the village to assess the situation and comb out the area, noting that the casualty was minimal as many residents had already fled the village before the attack.
However, the residents of the village told DAILY NIGERIAN on Tuesday that the insurgents killed eight persons and abducted several women, children and carted away foodstuff.
One of the indigenes of the village, Amos Ali, who resides in Maiduguri, told our correspondent on Tuesday that some of his relatives had fled to the city to seek refuge with him.
“The terrorists came into Dzaku in two Toyota Hilux vehicles, armed with AK47 rifles and petrol bombs and wreaked havoc without any confrontation,” he said.
Mr. Ali who said one of his sisters was amongst those abducted by the attackers, lamented that because of lack of telecommunication service, they did not immediately receive a distress call from the community.
He also said the terrorists killed eight people and injured several others, including another sister of his.
“We are much worried especially now that the military said it has eliminated terrorists from the region,” he added.
Meanwhile, the police command also confirmed the killing of four people after three separate suspected suicide bomb attacks were foiled by the Nigerian troops in state capital.
Mr. Chukwu said the first incident happened in the midnight, while the others took place in the morning of Wednesday.
“The first incident occurred around 24:45 hours on Tuesday, when a suspected suicide bomber tried to penetrate the metropolis through Usmanti village. As he tried to cross over near a military check point, he was sighted and gunned down by the soldiers on guard and the shooting triggered the explosive he was carrying, killing him alone,” the commissioner said.
“The second incident happened this morning around 04:50 hours when a group of suspected suicide bombers were trying to penetrate the metropolis through Kaleri village. Unfortunately for them, there was a vigilant military checkpoint in place and one of them sighted trying to cross the fence was gunned down.
“But unknown to anybody, the remaining bomber had already scaled through and moved about 200 meters away. She met some people and detonated her explosive, killing herself and one other person. Two persons around the vicinity were also injured and taken to hospital for treatment,” he added.
